DREAM 4 Review and Results : Ronaldo Souza defeats Jason Miller
By Robert Rousseau
Whether these DREAM events come to us from the Saitama Super Arena or the Yokohama Arena, the bottom line is that DREAM is truly reminiscent of the former PRIDE organization. Along with this, so are their grand prix style tournaments.
Which brings us to DREAM 4 - the second round of the middleweight tourney. So, let's get this tournament review going Submit To MMA style.
Shinya Aoki vs. Katsuhiko Nagata : A Gogoplata from the top
Every now and then, you see something in MMA that you haven't before. That wasn't the case when Shinya Aoki took his opponent down. Nor was it the case when he mounted him.
But when he pulled off that gogoplata from the top position, particularly in the way that he did it; well, that certainly was something I haven't seen before.
Shinya Aoki wins via first round submission.
Alistair Overeem vs. Tae Hyun Lee : Can you say knockout?
Overeem almost hurt himself early on in this one with a low kick. That said, a great left-right combination ended things very quickly for this awesome stand up fighter.
Alistair Overeem wins by first round knockout. Afterwards, he said, "I want Cro Cop."
Now there's an interesting idea.
Darren Umenoyama vs. Hideo Tokoro : Fight of the Night
Every now and then a fight is so good that it's hard to even explain. The bottom line on this one is that every time these two hit the canvas, a surplus of fight ending moves and defensive maneuvers ensued. In terms of striking, Umenoyama connected with a hard right on the ground and followed that up with several punches on the feet, rocking his opponent in the opening stanza. However, Tokoro floored his opponent twice with knees and seemed closer to finishing the fight on more occasions.
One of the better fights of the year.
Hideo Tokoro wins by unanimous decision.
THE MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT
Gegard Mousasi vs. Dong Sik Yoon:
Mousasi dominated the action on his feet with well- placed and damaging low kicks and knees. Further, he beat up on Yoon on the ground for the majority of the fight by controlling and ground and pounding him, much of the time, particularly in the second round, with him on Yoon's back.
That said, toward the end of the initial stanza, Yoon had Mousasi dead to rights in an armbar and somehow he managed to hold his arm secure with his other hand for over a minute. Further, he rolled out of the dangerous attempt at its conclusion.
That armbar attempt turned out to be Yoon's only chance to win the fight.
Gegard Mousasi wins via unanimous decision.
Zelg Galesic vs. Taiei Kin:
Unfortunately, this fight ended prematurely when Kin tried to stop Galesic from taking him down only to have his arm bend backwards on the canvas when trying to brace himself. Thus, the fight had to stop.
Zelg Galesic wins via TKO in round one.
Ronaldo Souza vs. Jason Miller:
What a fight! In case you didn't hear it the first time: What a fight!
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These two showed what jiu jitsu is all about in this one, continually moving from move to move for the majority of the two rounds the contest went. That said, Souza took Miller down on multiple occasions and neared submission territory on a few occasions with rear naked choke attempts and leg locks. Miller looked a little bit better than his adversary on his feet and showed the defensive jiu jitsu skills of a master. However, it wasn't enough to sway the judges his way.
Ronaldo Souza wins via unanimous decision in a truly technical fight.
Melvin Manhoef vs. Kazushi Sakuraba:
The bottom line on this one was simple. Manhoef landed a high kick and then assaulted Sakuraba in a furious manner on the ground. This was vicious, people.
Melvin Manhoef wins via TKO in round one.
The Rest of DREAM 4
Melvin Manhoef def. Kazushi Sakuraba by TKO (Strikes) at 1:50, R1
Ronaldo Souza def. Jason Miller by Unanimous Decision, R2
Zelg Galesic def. Taei Kin by TKO (Injury) at 1:05, R1
Gegard Mousasi def. Dong Sik Yoon by Unanimous Decision, R2
Hideo Tokoro def. Darren Uyenoyama by Unanimous Decision, R2
Ralek Gracie def. Alavutdin Gadzhiev by Submission (Armbar) at 3:02, R1
Alistair Overeem def. Tae Hyun Lee by KO at 0:36, R1
Shinya Aoki def. Katsuhiko Nagata by Submission (Gogoplata) at 5:12, R1
