Earlier this morning in Yokohama, Japan, DREAM kicked off the start of its “Super Hulk” tournament during DREAM.9. And in a surprise, three of the four true “hulks” were defeated in round one of their first round tournament bouts.
Leading the way was M-1 Global’s own Gegard Mousasi. The former DREAM middleweight champion ensured his debut in a heavier weight class was successful after he submitted former PRIDE super heavyweight Mark Hunt via submission.
In addition to Hunt being defeated, behemoths Bob Sapp and Jan Nortje were also eliminated from the tournament. Sapp was submitted by Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa in round 1 while the 6’10” Nortje was TKO’d by UFC, PRIDE, and Affliction veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who normally competes at 205 pounds.
The lone true super heavyweight to win his first round matchup was Korean kickboxing standout Hong Man Choi, who TKO’d former professional baseball player Jose Canseco in round 1.
In addition to the first round of the “Super Hulk” tournament, DREAM.9 also featured the second round of its featherweight Grand Prix, a match to determine the new DREAM middleweight champion, and a lightweight bout between top ten ranked 155′ers Gesias “JZ” Calvancante and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
While three of the four “hulks” losing were a surprise, the biggest surprise of all was former American wrestling standout Joe Warren defeating Norifumi “Kid” Yamomoto in the second round of the featherweight Grand Prix via split decision.
Yamamoto is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet but had not competed due to injury since Dec. 31, 2007. Warren was competing in just his second pro MMA fight but was able to hand Yamamoto his second career loss.
In other featherweight Grand Prix tournament action, King of the Cage flyweight champion and one-time EliteXC bantamweight title challenger Abel Cullum was defeated in his second round featherweight Grand Prix match against Hideo Tokoro. Tokoro submitted Cullum in round two of what has to be considered the fight of the night.
In addition to Tokoro’s victory, Hiroyuki Takaya TKO’d former WEC bantamweight title challenger Yoshiro Maeda in round two while Bibiano Fernandes pulled off the upset against Masakazu Imanari after recording a unanimous decision win.
After defeating Hunt, Mousasi was at ringside during the night’s main event between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Jason “Mayhem” Miller in order to present his DREAM title to the new champion. However, the night’s action ended in anti-climatic fashion as Mousasi was unable to award his title to either fighter after the bout was ruled a no contest.
Within minutes of the fight, Miller hit an illegal kick to the top of Souza’s head while Souza was down. The kick opened up a deep cut in which an excessive amount of blood was flowing from. The fight was initially stopped and Miller was issued a yellow card while officials at ringside tended to the cut.
The fight was re-started and Souza went right to work, taking Miller down in hopes of submitting him before the fight could be stopped. However, Miller was able to get the fight back to a standing position but was covered in Souza’s blood. The fight was stopped again, this time again, with DREAM officials ruling the bout a no contest.
In lightweight action, Kawajiri handed Calvancante his second consecutive loss after recording a unanimous decision victory. The win marked Kawajiri’s 24th career victory and he now holds notable wins over Calvancante, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, and Joachim Hansen.
Complete results are as follows:
Dream Featherweight Grand Prix
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren – Winner: Warren – Split Decision
Hideo Tokoro vs. Abel Cullum – Winner: Tokoro – Submission Round Two – (amazing fight)
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya – Winner: Takaya – TKO Round Two
Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes – Winner: Fernandes – Unanimous Decision
Dream Middleweight Championship
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller – No Contest
Non-Tournament Bout
Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri – Winner: Kawajiri – Unanimous Decision
Dream Super Hulk Tournament
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Hunt – Winner: Mousasi – Submission Round One
Bob Sapp vs. Ikuhisa Minowa – Winner: Minowa – Submission Round One
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Jan Nortje – Winner: Sokoudjou – TKO Round One
Hong Man Choi vs. Jose Canseco – Winner: Choi – TKO Round One
