DREAM

Japanese combat sports have a much different flavor than the MMA seen in North America, but it's a refreshing change if the music, production, and commentary of the UFC have become a little bit repetitive to your ears.

The year-end Dynamite!! show in Japan is nothing less than a spectacle, but unlike most events, this one features a mixture of MMA and kickboxing bouts, which is another refreshing thing to watch.  The only problem with Japanese MMA is that the fights don't start until the wee hours of the morning for those of us watching in the western hemisphere.

In previous years I've waited to catch the replay at a later time, but this year my sleep schedule is all messed up, so I decided to stay up and watch the fights, document the experience as it happens, and update the article as I go along. It's like a live blog—for dummies.

The first things worth noting about Dynamite are the commentators that will not be familiar to those who have only watched American MMA.

This year the English commentary was done by Michael Schiavello, Guy Mezger, and Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Perhaps not the sturdiest or most consistent commentators, but they're guaranteed to provide some interesting quotes.

There is some definite visual appeal to Dynamite events.  The entrance stage looks more like something that would be seen at a pop concert than at an MMA event, with some big flashy screens with vibrant colors.

Dynamite!! opens with a long, opening ceremony with music and a dramatic speech.

The first big surprise of the night came in the finale of the "Superhulk Tournament" that began earlier this year, and featured a freak-show list of competitors from Hong Man Choi to Jose Canseco.

The finale pitted former UFC fighter Rameau Sokoudjou against the colorful pro wrestler Ikhisa Minowa "Minowaman," the smallest fighter in the competition, who sported his trademark red shorts.

In the early action, Sokoudjou did a good job of beating down Minowaman, while Minowa attempted to go for leg locks.

Sokoudjou looked a lot more tentative than he has in previous bouts, as though he's been trying to find a way to avoid fading as he has in his previous losses to Machida, Cane, and Mousasi.

Part of the slowed pace might be due to Sokoudjou being wary of Minowaman's submission skills, and that fear is justified when Minowaman nearly finishes a knee bar at the end of the second round.

The third round is a bizarre standoff, with both fighters simply standing across each other for minutes and receiving multiple warnings from the referee.  When they finally engage, Minowaman buckles Sokoudjou with a combination of punches, forcing the stoppage.

It was a shocking finish, as Minowa is not known for his punching power.  Hardly anybody thought he had a chance against Sokoudjou, but he proved us all wrong.

For a guy who had a 1-8-1 start to his MMA career, Minowa has fashioned a strange and amazing legend for himself, having fought the likes of Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, and having beaten giants like Hong Man Choi, Bob Sapp, Eric "Butterbean" Esch, Giant Silva, and Kimo Leopoldo.

Maggie Hendricks is blogging right now, and wrote, "Minowa showed that in MMA, size does not matter." That's not entirely true.  Size does matter in MMA, but so do skill, tenacity, and Minowaman craziness.

For you UFC fans who think I'm anti-UFC, I have a question for you: Do Minowa's victories over Sokoudjou and Hong Man Choi make Mousasi and Fedor's victories over those two look less impressive? Don't ask a Fedor fan if you don't want to absorb a stiff lecture! :)

The occasional wide shot of the arena shows that the stadium is a massive one, and full to capacity.  The MMA attendance record in Japan dwarfs the attendance record in North America, although the attendance record doesn't really speak to paid attendance, or gate revenue.

Considering the size of the crowd, the stadium seems awfully quiet in the early fights.  When the fighters really start to engage, though, the crowd does start going.

5:40   At this time, I thought it might be fun to start documenting the time as I write down my thoughts. :)

5:45   Having commentary in a language I can understand really makes the fight easier to watch—luckily I've got Schiavello and Mayhem here this morning.  My brain seems to turn off a little bit when I'm watching a fight on a small screen with no English commentary.

5:47   Think I'm being non-hardcore about those language remarks? Try watching the "BJ Penn vs. Lyoto Machida" fight without English commentary. I usually end up falling asleep trying to watch it, but, as uneventful as the fight was, I'm sure that Joe Rogan could have kept me at least semi-conscious.

5:52   Hiroshi Izumi may be one of the few humans with a head larger than mine.

5:55   The commentators have done a good job letting the viewer know that the judges in Japan tend to score a lot differently than the judges in America.  Fewer points for a takedown, or a short offensive outbreak, and more points for overall offense over time.

5:58   The card tonight features a series of bouts pitting DREAM fighters against Sengoku fighters.  Most people believe that Sengoku may already be a dying promotion, but there could be a fair bit at stake if one promotion has a lot more success than the other.

6:02  Jason Miller: "With the judges, who knows!"  What?  Somebody expressing confusion about MMA judging?  I never would have thought I'd see the day...

6:03  The judges made the right decision for Izumi, who notches the first victory for Sengoku by dominating the final round.

6:15  For those of you who haven't realized yet, I'm not writing a direct play-by-play for the action. I'm far more interested in the general experience of the broadcast.  If you really want to know what happened minute by minute, you can find the fights on the Internet later.

6:20  Michhiro Omigawa starches Hiroyuki Takaya.  It's a beautiful thing to watch, if you like knockouts.  After a storybook run in the DREAM featherweight grand prix, and an impressive-looking performance by Takaya against Bibiano Fernandes earlier this year, this loss brings Takaya crashing back down to earth.

6:24  Of course, UFC fans are going to take note of the fact that Omigawa went 0-2 in the UFC.

6:26  If you haven't seen an Akihiro Gono ring entrance before, you're missing something.  Even Jason "Mayhem" Miller is jealous, and he says so.

6:36  "Hayato Sakurai vs. Akihiro Gono" is a fight that should have happened years ago.  Better late than never?  We'll see.

6:37  Guy Mezger and Jason Miller don't like scoring rounds, or they don't have short-term memory lasting five minutes, or both.

6:44  Schiavello calls a live body "the carcass."

6:45  Not a good performance from Sakurai, as he gives up the submission to Gono.  Sakurai has fought just about everybody in the business, but the future looks uncertain.

6:51  This card is stacked! "Kazuo Misaki vs. Melvin Manhoef" next.  Misaki is another one of those guys who has fought everybody.  He's beaten Dan Henderson and knocked out Akiyama, and now he's doing a crazy dance on the electric stairs on the uber-flashy entrance stage.  Gotta love those entrances here.

6:67  Manhoef wins via TKO. The referees tonight are a bit trigger-happy with the stoppages.  Misaki was still very alert at the time of the stoppage.

6:68  You can see why people love Manhoef.  The guy just goes running in with his arms swinging.  It may not be the most technical looking display, but it's pretty exciting, and is sometimes effective.

This fight is probably a letdown for those who were expecting a real war.  Too bad, but such is MMA.

6:69   Manhoef puts DREAM on the board, and the score is now 3-1 for Sengoku.

7:03  There are some hardcore fans out there who are dedicated Wikipedia editors.  The fight records of the competitors tonight are getting updated faster than Schiavello can say "the big kibosh!"  If somebody knows the line Schiavello says for "faster than ____" please post it in the comments for my amusement.

7:04  Some people don't like Schiavello's one-liners, but I'd rather be inconsistently entertained than consistently bored (e.g. "He's been mounted more times than Jenna Jameson").  Don't ask me when he said that.  I heard it on the Internet.  You can find a lot more of his quotations there; it will be as easy as bitch-slapping a baby.

7:12  The commentators don't know much about Hideo Tokoro's late replacement opponent, Jong Man Kim, despite Kim having over 30 fights.  Goes to show that even the big MMA fans can't follow everything.  A quick check shows that he once fought a guy named Do Hyung Kim, who isn't the same as Dong Hyun Kim.

7:16  If Do Hyung Kim eventually fought Dong Hyun Kim, it would be far less ridiculous than the Super Hulk tournament.

7:17  An awesome flying triangle attempt, and some awesome transitions to opposing arm bars by Hideo Tokoro.  Really exciting stuff!  FIND IT AND WATCH IT!  Jong Man Kim hangs on, and escapes the first round.

7:27  Kim is 0-5-2 in his last seven fights, but he's putting up a great fight especially as a late replacement.  I haven't seen a ton of Korean MMA, but such fights make me think that it's probably a lot of fun.

7:29  Schiavello: "This is awesome!"  I'll agree.

7:30  Schiavello said something about "folding him in half like a piano..." importer?  I'll have to listen to that one again later.

7:32  Tokoro brings the tally to 2-3 for Sengoku, but more importantly, it was a fun fight, although Daisuke Naito got nearly as much screen time as the fighters.

7:45  "Yokota vs. Kawajiri"

7:45   Yokota's wheelbarrow escape is strange, and the commentators are getting a little bit of a kick out of it.  Mezger feels uncomfortable.

7:49   Kawajiri really dominating from the mount.  Some people think Kawajiri is a really bad stylistic matchup for Shinya Aoki.  I'm sure we'll see this fight sometime in the near future.

7:51   Guy Mezger gets upset with a fighter whenever he doesn't come close to a finish.

7:52   Rings aren't nearly as cool as cages; it's a fact.  Plus, it's pretty funny to see the Japanese ring officials holding onto the ropes to try to stabilize the ring.

7:54   Kawajiri has some pretty great mount control, but he's no BJ Penn from the mount.  Few are.

7:55   Kawajiri owning Yokota.  You can see why he's called "crusher."

7:58   It looks like Yokota just let his arm get broken rather than tap.  These Sengoku guys are nuts.

8:00   Kawajiri wins the decision via ground domination.  Still, I'm interested in seeing what he could do in the UFC.

8:05   Norifumi Yamamoto needs a win against Kanehara.  The highlights for Yamamoto show his attempt to stand by using his head to form a tripod after he was knocked senseless by Jae Hee Cheon.

8:10   You probably need to understand Japanese to appreciate the overly lengthy entrance for Yamamoto...or maybe he just needed to take a pee or something.

8:20   Schiavello on Yamamoto: "So short you can see his feet on his driver's license."

8:21   "Kid" looks tiny beside Kanehara.

One of the interesting things about Japanese MMA is they let you wear wrestling shoes, as long as you agree not to use kicks.

8:22   Kid falls through the ropes.  Again with the ropes.

8:25   Kid gets caught and goes all tripod halfway through round two, but somehow survives.

8:32   Tough fight to call between Yamamoto and Kanekara.  It looks like it will depend on the scoring of the first round.

8:40   Kanehara wins, and Schiavello is surprised, but Kanehara won the second round definitively, and it looks like he won the first as well, although I haven't seen the score cards, they are using the "10-point must system."

8:45   "Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita" coming next.

8:46   Overeem is taking a lot of flak in the U.S. for becoming gigantic, and not fighting in the U.S., but he's having a lot of fun in Japan.

8:49   The commentators are convinced that Overeem is even bigger than he was a few weeks ago when he fought in the K-1 Grand Prix, but that's more of a joke than anything else.

It seems like the commentators worldwide are trying to tell everybody that Overeem is on steroids.

Whatever you think about his increase in size, it appears that it has made him a better fighter.  He's knocking people around, and isn't wilting as much as he did in the past.

Overeem's defenders will tell you that back when he was smaller, he had to cut a lot of weight to make 205, which affected his stamina, and also that, even when he fought at 205, he walked around at well over 230.

Making the permanent move to heavyweight, changing his workouts, and his diet could easily account for a gain of 15 lbs., but I think that the commentators like the controversy surrounding Overeem.

Overeem knocks out Fujita with a big knee.  Fujita is unconscious for minutes.  Scary stuff.

8:55   "Gegard Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge" coming up.  Mousasi is getting high praise from Schiavello and Mezger.  I'm impressed with his abilities, but more than anything else, I'm impressed with Mousasi's mental strength.  He's almost Fedoresque in that regard.

9:00  Nobody expects Goodridge to last long in this one.

9:05   Mousasi wins easily, but there are opponents far more dangerous than the current incarnation of Goodridge.

9:07   Mousasi is a tough fighter to rate.  Jason Miller brought up my feelings when he said that he used to think that Mousasi was just lucky, but he's won too many times for it all to be luck.

9:12   "Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota" next.  A lot of people think this bout is a bad one for Aoki.

9:14  Aoki has awesome control with his legs.  It's not just the spandex tights.

9:15   These Sengoku fighters aren't tapping.  Hirota's arm is broken in half.  Aoki made Hirota look like a white belt.

9:22   "Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida" coming up next in a bout of past and present judo gold medalists.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding Ishii, but he's only making his MMA debut, and so there are still a lot of questions about how well he's picked up the MMA game.

A second question is whether one of these fighters will choose to wear a gi during the bout, which is still allowed in Japan.

Surely if Sengoku is going to survive, they're going to need a good performance from Ishii, but Yoshida is a tough debut fight, despite his age.  Another fighter at least might not know as much about judo, but Yoshida should be very aware of what kinds of threats Ishii will bring.

9:30   I heard on Sherdog that Lyoto Machida broke Ishii's jaw while Ishii was training in Brazil.

9:40   Ishii is not looking very comfortable on the feet.

9:41   Ishii needs a gi to grab.  He's got heart, but he's in real trouble, and the ref looks very concerned.

9:42   This is what happens when you throw an MMA newbie right into the fire.

9:43   Ishii survives the first round, but it was tough going.  If Ishii can pull off a win here, he'll be performing a minor miracle.

9:45   Jason Miller plugs the EA Sports MMA game, which will be featuring Hidehiko Yoshida we assume, according to his pants.

9:46   It really seems like Ishii is looking for collar control, as opposed to an underhook.  It's hard to get a takedown when you can't get an underhook and you're not looking for the legs.

9:48   Much better round from Ishii so far, as he starts to work the clinch.  Ishii is starting to land some punches.

9:50   Illegal groin shot landed by Ishii.  That's about as square a shot to the groin as you can get.

9:52   Yoshida's cup is broken, but it looks like there is a spare, and the fight might go on.  The fans are hoping, because right now, this isn't exactly the debut that Ishii wanted.

9:54   Yoshida looks really hurt, but is going to continue to please the fans.

9:55   They guys running the show are obviously far more interested in letting the fight go on than they are worried about any five-minute recovery rule.  Somebody can explain the ethics behind the rule, but I'm happy to see that they're doing everything they can to continue the fight.

9:59  The fight resumes, and Ishii performs a nice guard pass before the round ends.

That being said, maybe Yoshida doesn't want to hold Ishii in his guard, given the groin damage he's sustained.

10:01   This fight is a prime example of something that a lot of people don't recognize: When you have two masters of the same art, sometimes their strengths are neutralized.  In this case, we wound up with a sub-par boxing match, with some clinches.

For another example of this, see "Thales Leites vs. Dean Lister."  What was billed as a grappling exhibition turned into Thales Leites repeatedly jabbing Lister, with Lister doing nothing but trying to go for the same knee bar over, and over, and over, and over again.

10:08   Yoshida wins the decision, as Ishii lost the first round, and got a point deduction in the second for the illegal knee.

Aside from the point deduction, it wasn't a bad MMA debut for Ishii, but people simply expected too much from the newcomer, especially going up against another judo expert with far more MMA experience.

10:15  Hopefully Ishii won't be calling out Fedor again any time soon.

The MMA portion of the Dynamite!! card is finished, with the main event being a K-1 kickboxing bout.

10:20   K-1 records aren't like boxing records.  Even the best fighters tend to have a few losses.

Semmy Schilt, the most dominant K-1 heavyweight, has a kickboxing record of 35-5-1.

10:25   "Masato vs. Andy Souwer" coming up.  This is Masato's retirement fight against a fighter he's never beaten.  Souwer has beaten Masato twice: once by decisions, once by leg damage.

10:26   These guys kick hard !

10:27   Unofficial score: 10-9 Masato.

10:28   Schiavello: "His hands are faster than a speeding ticket."

10:29   Masato landing well with his hands, but his legs are taking some damage.

10:29   Souwer lands some good jabs, and a right hand.

Masato again landing combinations.  Souwer lands a flurry near the end of the round.  Tough round to score.

10:32   This fight is being scored live, and the judges have it 20-19, 20-19, and 20-20 after two rounds.

10:33   Here's my best Mike Goldberg impression: "And remember, this fight is five, three-minute rounds."

10:34   Masato doing well again, and he's landing his leg kick at the end of nearly every combination.

Souwer's lead leg is starting to take some real punishment, but he's still moving well.

Nice knee by Masato.

Close round again, and the judges score the round 10-10.

10:37   Souwer comes in aggressively, and Masato is countering very well, winning the fourth round early.

Chopping leg kicks by Masato.  The first minute is dominated by Masato.

Knockdown scored by Masato.  I'll have to see the replay, but it looks like it might have been a bit of a slip.  Still, it will score, and definitively give the round to Masato.

10:39   Souwer hurts Masato badly with punches near the end of the round.  Masato clinching to stay on his feet.

10:40  Two judges score the round 10-8 for Masato, so Souwer needs a knockout to win this one.

10:41   Masato's lead leg buckling a bit with every kick it takes, but he's hanging on, and if he can do it for two more minutes, this fight is his.

Souwer extremely aggressive, but there's too much clinching for him to be able to finish this.

Good combinations from Souwer, and he goes for the head kicks.

10:44  Masato wins.  If this is his retirement fight, it's a great way to go out, as he's beaten the last man he needed to beat, and he's won everything he's needed to win.

Great fight, and a great win for Masato, and a good fight by Souwer as well.

10:47   Ray Sefo pointing out over the broadcast that few fighter retirements actually last.  Guy Mezger agrees.

Closing Thoughts

This was a great and exciting event.  It lasted eight hours, but it was well worth it.

This card was loaded with interesting fights, and it's hard to pin down one moment as being more impressive than the others.

Among the MMA fighters, Aoki's victory might be the most impressive considering the opponent, but it's hard to ignore what the others did.

The most surprising victory was of course Minowa's victory over Sokoudjou.  The loss is a devastating blow to Sokoudjou's MMA career, and one wonders exactly where he will go from here; it rhymes, so it must be true.

Ishii will add a loss to his record, but it is not a terrible result, and hopefully he'll get a better stylistic matchup in the future.

Well, it was fun to do this little experiment with live blogging. Thanks for reading!

  Brandon Vera is a self proclaimed Muay Thai striker who backs it up with deadly strikes and a very formittable takedown defense, So does Jon"Bones " Jones.

  The "Truth" also claimes to  have a very good boxing and wrestling back ground, the same can be said for Jones.

  Brandon "the Truth" Vera is a brash boderline cocky fighter who has his sights set as high as the UFC ceiling, and once again Jon "Bones" Jones can say exactly the same thing.

  The difference is that Jones and Vera are very different in every way imaginable.

  Brandon Vera exploded onto the UFC with a ton of talent, great Muay Thai clinch strikes , a body built for the light heavy weight division, and fast win over a UFC legend and soon to be  hall of famer in Frank Mir. Too  bad Vera started out in the wrong division and built his fast start  on a win over a man who was just getting his wheels back after a near fatal crash.

  Jon Jones has taken th exact opposite route, stepping up his competition with every bout and showing everybody that he will be the favorite in this writers opinion in ther fight coming up in april.

  As high and hard that Vera can deliver those knees Jones can deliver them a little higher, faster, and i belive with more precision. And while i believe that there are very many similarities between the two, Jone's hunger runs a little deeper, he knows he destroyed Matt Hamill , but he also knows what he did wrong, very little instead of just finishing Matt with straight punches other than raining down straight midnight elbows.

  Vera claims to be a very good ju jitsu practicioner when he has to but I really think that he is more comfortable falling back on his wrestling skills, which actually saved him from Captain America's ground and pound, seeing that the fading old veteren could not bring Vera down, by the way I thought vera won that fight on strikes.

  But The "Truth" can only expect one thing against Jones, not to expect anything from Jones prematurly. Jon Jones displays   lightning fast mental desicions on switching styles, from everything to stances to going from punches to kicks to spinning back fists to judo trips all in the blink of an effortless  eye.

  Vera is stronger than he looks, Jones is twice as strong as he looks and he looks stronger than Vera to me.

  If Vera can deliver an over hand right without breaking his hand as he did against Tim Sylvia then he could end the fight right there, I just cannot see Jones keeping his head  in one place long enough for Vera to land with much force, I can see Jones beating Vera at his so called bread and butter, the Thai clinch and i can see it happening often.

  Brandon Vera does not have a height  advantage, a speed advantage, a stamina advantage , and maybe not evan a wiley vetern advantage.

  Because from what I have seen, Jones has taken a step foward with every fight, and with every fight Vera has taken a step foward , he has taken two steps back.

Earlier this year, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that his steadily rising business was going to partner up with Fighting and Entertainment Group.

For those unaware, FEG is the parent company behind the largest kickboxing promotion in the world, K-1, as well as Japan's largest MMA promotion in DREAM.

While co-promotion is a scary thought among many fans and promoters alike (take Alistair Overeem's story, for example), the partnership has given birth to a number of blockbuster battles that could potentially take place in the next few years.

One of these potential super-fights could take the form of DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki versus Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

Everyone's familiar with Aoki's strength; he wants to detach a limb from his opponent's body. In fact, his grappling ability is about the only strength that "Tobikan Judan" really possesses. Well, other than his remarkable ability to whip around his opponents like a rag doll with his judo black belt.

He's been involved in wars against some of Japan's best strikers; including his heel hook victory over the consensus number three lightweight of the world, Eddie Alvarez.

With Melendez's striking and jiu jitsu improving dramatically with every fight, it would appear that Aoki is looking to get more experience against skilled strikers. Enter Sengoku lightweight champion, Mizuto Hirota.

To some, an even stiffer test would have come in the shape of Tatsuya Kawajiri. He is of the top-five caliber in the lightweight division, and has the striking ability to test Aoki's biggest weakness, but that fight isn't going to happen.

At least not yet.

One major reason is probably the lack of training time each fighter would get, as both of their fights were announced so close to the show. Another possibility is that Coker and FEG president, Sadaharu Tanikawa, want to avoid another potential loss on Aoki's resume heading into his Strikeforce debut.

Any time you get a champion versus champion fight, there is an ecstatic buzz that festers and grows in size until the eventual showdown

Though we would get the same buzz with a fight between Kawajiri and Melendez, especially with both fighters having similar styles, it appears that Coker and Tanikawa have their minds set on the Aoki-Melendez bout to take place on Strikeforce, possibly airing on CBS in April.

The third and most logical reason the fight won't take place yet is that promoters enjoy big marquee matchups such as Aoki versus Kawajiri, but they also have to think about the future of their business.

A hastily put-together fight between DREAM's two premier lightweight stars wouldn't generate the same type of cash flow into the company. So expect this fight to happen in Japan sometime in 2010, surrounded by great hype, with the DREAM lightweight championship on the line.

In the meantime, Aoki prepares for his New Year's Eve fight with Hirota. While he is less dangerous than Kawajiri, Hirota possesses very heavy hands that could easily leave Aoki's questionable jaw shattered on the canvas.

Additionally, even though he prefers the stand up war, Hirota is comfortable in just about any position due to his Shooto background.

While it seems that Aoki still has the skills to dismantle the Sengoku champion, Hirota has the neverending drive and heart to come from behind and beat the greatest of fighters.

2010 will definitely be a huge year for Shinya Aoki.

That is, if he doesn't look past the dangerous and very capable Mizuto Hirota, who is looking to spoil his New Year's celebration party.

Only four days away from Dream/K-1/Sengoku-produced K-1 Dynamite, rumors are circulating that we could see Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi on the card.

The bout being discussed would be a K-1 rules bout between Mousasi and long-time UFC and Pride veteran Gary Goodridge.

Mousasi became a superstar in Japan after taking part in the the DREAM Middleweight Grand-Prix, dispatching Denis Kang, Dong Sik Yoon, as well as recent Strikeforce signee’s Menvin Manhoef and Ranaldo “Jacare” Souza on his way to victory.

Following this, he entered the ill-fated Super Hulk Tournament as an overwhelming favourite. In the first round, Mousasi proved the prognosticators correct with a quick victory over former PRIDE No. 1 contender Mark Hunt.

He then pulled out of the tournament, citing lingering injuries following an August bout with Renato Sobral. Most recently Mousasi defended his Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Championship against Sokoudjou on a November Strikeforce card.

Little has been heard from Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge over the last few years. After leaving Pride in 2003, he entered K-1 Hero’s where he went 2-1. His last bouts of significance were against Paul Buentello and Allistair Overeem, both dominating losses.

After four straight mixed martial arts losses, and 11 straight K-1 fights without a victory, it is unlikely Goodridge has much he can offer the much younger and more proficient Mousasi. The power the veteran contains might be his only chance at a victory. Skill-wise he is outmatched, but as we’ve seen so many times, it only takes one good punch to finish a fight.

The fight will be one of the less competitive on the card and was clearly put together to help pull in a major rating, as Dynamite is broadcast live in Japan on TBS.

The question might not be who is going to win the fight, but rather how long can Goodridge last before getting taken apart by the fastest rising star in the sport, Gegard Mousasi?

K-1 Dynamite takes place live on HDnet Jan. 1 at 3 a.m. EST.

At a press conference held yesterday, Dream and World Victory Road representatives announced two more fights for its fast-approaching New Year's Eve card.

A champion-against-champion lightweight encounter will take place as second-ranked Shinya Aoki takes on Sengoku’s ninth ranked Mizuto Hirota. The other bout announced is between fifth-ranked Tatsuya Kawajiri and the always tough DEEP-veteran Kazunori Yokota. Also, reports are surfacing that a last minute bout between recent Strikeforce signee Melvin Manhoef and Japanese veteran Kazuo Misaki.

Fairly new to mixed martial arts, Hirota is one of the most unknown ranked fighters in the sport. He came to prominence after pulling off a fairly surprising upset against PRIDE veteran Mitsuhiro Ishida. Following this, he was given a championship fight against heavy favorite and Sengoku Champion Satoru Kitaoka. Hirota took a beating early, but outlasted Kitaoka and finished him in the fourth.

Shinya Aoki is coming off of an armbar victory over Joachim Hansen to claim the DREAM Lightweight Championship. Anyone who knows anything about Aoki can tell you about his lethal ground game. Although Hirota has never been finished, the chances of him keeping that upset streak going are in jeopardy.

Tatsuya Kawajiri had been clamoring for a fight with Shinya Aoki all year and DREAM decided to deny his request as he will be facing Sengoku’s Kazunori Yokota. Yokota has put together a decent resume, defeating many of Sengoku’s lightweights such as Mizuto Hirota, Michihiro Omigawa, Ryan Schultz and Eiji Mitsuoka. Both Kawajiri and Yokota like to throw the leather so we can expect a war in this one.

Finally, maybe the most competitive of the announced bouts is between powerhouse Melvin Manhoef and longtime veteran Kazuo Misaki. Manhoef is 1-2, having fallen to both Paulo Filho and Gegard Mousasi by submission. With Filho’s lack of ground game and Misaki’s submission prowess it will be interesting to see if Manhoef can keep it off the ground and make it a stand-up bout.

Rumors have been circulating that we could see the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion on the card in a K-1 rules bout, but nothing has been announced as of now.

Right now the card is shaping up like this:

Masato vs. Andy Souwer (K-1)

Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (MMA)

Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota (MMA)

Melvin Manhoef vs. Kazuo Misaki (MMA)

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazunori Yokota (MMA)

Masanori Kanehara vs. Norofumi "Kid" Yamamoto (MMA)

Akihiro Gono vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (MMA)

Hiroshi Izumi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (MMA)

Marlon Sandro vs. Hideo Tokoro (MMA)

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (MMA)

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Alistair Overeem (MMA)

Yosuke Nishijima vs. Ray Sefo (K-1)

Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (MMA/"Super Hulk" finale)

Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)

Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)

Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

During a press conference on Tuesday, DREAM announced seven new fights for their New Years Eve K-1 DYNAMITE!! Show. Six of the seven encounters will be apart of the World Victory Road vs. Dream set of matches which was previously announced.

Leading the list of fights announced is an encounter between Sengoku Featherweight Champion Masanori Kanehara and former No. 1 Featherweight in the world Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. Kid is coming off of a disastrous year as he returned from a lengthy injury only to lose to MMA rookie Joe Warren via split decision at DREAM 9. Shortly following this he had a dismal performance in K-1 against relative unknown Jae Hee Cheon.

Sengoku Featherweight Champion Masanori Kanehara will be looking to prove himself as a legitimate champion after a fluke victory of the Sengoku Grand Prix. Kanehara lost his semifinal bout to tournament favorite Hatsu Hioki, however, as one night tournaments often go, Hioki was too injured to continue and Kanehara went onto the finals.

In the finals, Kanehara won a much debated split decision over Michihiro Omigawa to claim the championship. Both men will be looking for redemption and a chance to raise their stock in what should be an exciting encounter.

Speaking of redemption, another interesting Sengoku vs. Dream fight announced was Akihiro Gono vs. Hayato Sakurai. Gono returned from his unsuccessful UFC stint to take on prospect Dan Hornbuckle at Sengoku: Ninth Battle.

The result was one of the most spectacular and horrifying knockout’s of the year as Hornbuckle sent Gono into a far away galaxy with a head kick directly to the face. Despite returning successfully since that fight, that knockout is still fresh in everyone’s mind and a win on the big stage could help heal the sting.

Hayato Sakurai is another man who needs to step up if he wants to prove he is still relevant in the ever growing sport of mixed martial arts. Sakurai started the year off successfully overpowering Shinya Aoki into a TKO. Following this was the semi-finals of the Welterweight Grand-Prix.

Sakurai came in six lb’s overweight and was then knocked out by a head kick of Marius Zaromskis. Which one of these PRIDE and UFC veteran’s will step up their game. Can Sakurai get Gono to the ground or will Gono’s kickboxing prove to be the difference?

Alistair Overeem is also returning to mixed martial arts after an amazing run in the K-1 Grand-Prix to take on Japanese veteran Kazayuki Fujita. Overeem should be able to use his striking and submission superiority to find a way to finish Fujita with relative ease.

The other fights announced are:

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Izumi

Hideo Tokoro vs. Marlon Sandro

Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Michihiro Omigawa

K-1 Rules: Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima

It’s been rumored for weeks and finally its official: The Dynamite New Years Eve show will be co-promoted between DREAM, K-1 and Sengoku.

The DREAM promotion held a press conference yesterday in Japan and made the official announcement. Sengoku and DREAM were originally slated to be holding separate events, however, Sengoku announced recently they would not be holding their year end show.

The press conference announced one matchup from each promotion. Sengoku announced what will likely be pushed as their main event with Satoshi Ishii taken on Hidehiko Yoshida. Satoshi Ishii is the 2008 Gold Medalist in Judo and Hidehiko Yoshida won the same medal in 1992.

This will be Ishii’s mixed martial arts debut and a lot of pressure will be put on him to produce. It is clear that Sengoku is financially struggling and their top sponsor, Don Quitone, is on the verge of jumping ship to DREAM, which would likely be the end of Sengoku for certain. If Ishii can prove to be a big draw, he could be the saving grace of World Victory Road.

The DREAM fight we knew was going to be taking place on this card is the Super Hulk tournament finals between Sokoudjou vs. Ikuhisa Minowa. Although few have taken the tournament seriously with the lack of top competition, even more turned their back once Mousasi pulled out due to injury. Although neither is a top talent, both are known for putting on explosive fights and this should not be any different. 

K-1 as usual will also be taking part in this show. MASATO, one of the most popular K-1 fighters in history, will be having his retirement fight against lethal Dutch striker Andy Souwer. This is the old dog vs. the new guard as Souwer is the present and future of K-1 max and MASATO’s time has passed.

Although only a few fights were announced, many fighters were on hand for the press conference including: Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinya Aoki, Sakurai "Mach" Hayato, Hideo Tokoro, Hiroyuki Takaya, Katsuyori Shibata, Kazuhisa Watanabe, Hidehiko Yoshidau, Kazuo Misaki, Hiroshi Izumi, Sanae Kikuta, Akihiro Gono, Yokota Kazunori, Rui Hirota, Masanori Kanehara, Eiji Mitsuoka, and Nakao "Kiss" Yoshihiro.

Rumors also have it that Eddie Alvarez and UFC fighter Mirco Cro-Cop, could also be a part of the card.

Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri have also been rumored to be fighting, but nothing has been officially announced as of yet.

The card as of right now features:

• Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Gold Medalist vs. Gold Medalist)
• Masato vs. Andy Souwer (K-1)
• Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Super Hulk Finals)
• Hiroya vs. Japan Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
• Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
• Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

DREAM.11 is the last event of 2009 that DREAM has on primetime TV—let's hope it goes smoothly, hmm?

All odds here are given as decimals, where the value is your total return assuming that you bet 1.00. So, 1.55 means that the fighter you bet on will give you a profit of 0.55, plus the original 1.00.

Lines taken from Bodog.

Shinya 'Tobikan Judokan' Aoki vs Joachim 'Hellboy' Hansen
(70kg/154lbs)

Shinya Aoki
21-4-0-1



+Jiu Jitsu and Judo black belt
+Will always get a fight to the mat
+Particularly dangerous rubber guard who defends well against ground and pound

-Striking is powerless
-Ground and pound very weak

Notable Wins:
Eddie Alvarez (2008)
Caol Uno (2008)
Gesias Calvancante (2008)


Joachim Hansen
19-7-1




+Good with submissions
+Good grappler
+Great chin, and has never been KO'd
+Good cardio

-One year of inactivity
-Questionable wrestler






Notable Wins:
Shinya Aoki (2008)
Caol Uno (2005)
Gesias Calvancante (2004)
Takanori Gomi (2003)

Analysis:
The BJJ black belt is certain to get the fight to the ground versus a hard hitter with good sub defense and good ground and pound. There is no easy way to predict this.

Aoki was certainly more worn when they last fought—and Hansen ended the fight with GnP—because of his unanimous decision win over Caol Uno, but is this going to be the deciding factor in this rubber match?

First thing, I think Aoki will alter his strategy this time around, and not be so quick to pull guard against Hansen, for obvious reasons, and instead try to take him to the mat conventionally.

He should manage that—Hansen doesn't have that much wrestling skill—and once he does hit the ground...well, it wasn't that long ago that Hansen was stuck in a gogoplata from the same Aoki. So he'll be uncomfortable to say the least.

Also, Hansen hasn't fought in more than a year, since he beat Aoki for the belts. In the mean time, Aoki has fought Alvarez, Moore, Sakurai, and Shaolin. It's undeniable who the fitter opponent is.

My Take:
Leaning towards Aoki by submission, Round One, avenging his loss from more than a year ago. But at 1.47, Aoki really isn't great value. Hansen at 2.75 is quite good, and I'd feel better backing the Norwegian.


Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa 'The Punk' Minowa
(Openweight)

Hong Man Choi
2-2-0



+Massive size and reach advantage; stands at 7'2'', 330lbs
+Ssireum background
+Good chin

-No ground game
-Zombie-like mobility; no footwork or head movement of any kind




Ikuhisa Minowa
42-30-8



+Good with submissions
+Very good heart

-Terribly undersized for openweight
-No striking








Analysis:
Minowa shocked me by submitting Sapp, but I do not expect to be shocked twice. Hong Man Choi is even larger than Sapp, and has a better takedown defense, having experience in the Korean sumo-like sport of ssireum.

Choi's submission defense probably isn't as good as it was before, due to the pituitary gland surgery that he had in 2008 that caused him to lose tremendous weight and strength, but it should still be good enough to defend Minowa's leg locks—if Minowa takes Choi down with a single leg, I'll be amazed.

And it will have to be a single leg, since it's doubtful Minowa could wrap his arms around Choi's waist for a double.

My Take:
Hard to see Choi losing this fight. I would expect him to get the (T)KO relatively early, maybe through a knee in the clinch as Minowa shoots in.

Minowa enters at 2.45, while Choi enters at 1.57. Gotta stick with Choi here.

Bob 'The Beast' Sapp vs. Rameau Thierry 'The African Assassin' Sokoudjou (Openweight)

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
6-4-0



+Good, versatile striking
+Hits with awesome force
+Judo background

-No submission game
-Bad cardio
-Poor heart

Notable Wins:
Ricardo Arona (2007)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (2007)


Bob Sapp
9-4-0

+Huge size advantage, weighing 160kg
+Can generate force behind punches

-No heart
-Terrible cardio
-No grappling skill
-Lacks technical striking

Analysis:
With the unfortunate loss of Gegard Mousasi from the tournament, we are left with Bob Sapp to fill in against Sokoudjou.

Sapp has size, but not much else...in fact, not anything else.

Sokoudjou is a better striker and a harder hitter, and even has better cardio and a better ground game, should the Cameroonian wish to take it there.

Sokudjou also has an actual aspiration to get somewhere in MMA and is not content fighting for publicity.

My Take:
Sokoudjou by TKO, Round One, disposing of Sapp with the first good blow he connects with.

Sapp enters as a huge underdog, at 5.00. Sokoudjou enters at 1.16. I'm tempted to bet on the underdog, but in this case, I think I'll stick with Sokoudjou, backing him in conjunction with Choi.



Extra Prediction: Hong Man Choi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
(Openweight)

Analysis:
Sokoudjou is a more powerful hitter, a better striker, and a better grappler (though I wouldn't expect this to go to the mat, because of the difficulty throwing Choi would present), while Choi has a tremendous reach advantage.

Choi will not be able to chase and corner him any better than he did with Cro Cop, and if Sokoudjou employs the same strategy he should have success—presuming he can time Choi's striking and not get frustrated by the reach disadvantage.

My Take:
Sokoudjou by TKO, Round Two, bring Choi's MMA record back into the negatives. The one doubt I have is the African's cardio, which may cost him if he takes long to beat Sapp.

No odds here, just predicting.

EDIT: Ugh, forgot the finals of the SHT were at DREAM.12.

EDIT 2: Not DREAM.12, Dynamite.

Bibiano 'The Flash' Fernandes vs. Joe Warren
(63kg/139lbs)

Bibiano Fernandes
5-2-0



+Mundials super featherweight champion in 2005 and 2006
+Grappling has transferred to MMA very well
+Improving wrestling
+Very sticky grappler; hard to shake off or sprawl against

-Striking is rough, weak, and timid
-Very rough ground and pound





Notable Wins:
Masakazu Imanari (2009)


Joe Warren
2-0-0

+Best wrestler in the division; was tipped for Olympic gold in Beijing before being suspended for marijuana smoking
+Baptism of fire
+Striking clean and powerful; has a very good Muay Thai clinch

-Still unknown how good his submission defense truly is



Notable Wins:
Norimfumi Yamamoto (2009)
Chase Beebe (2009)


Analysis:
Warren isn't ending up on his back in this one unless he's swept. Fernandes' wrestling isn't good enough to put him there, and his striking isn't going to produce any knockdowns.

With that out of the way, we can expect Fernandes to try pulling guard desperately, something he has done very well before against wrestlers better than himself.

Warren is the best wrestler he will ever face—one of the best wrestlers any mixed martial artist has ever faced—but Fernandes comes in with some pretty intense non-MMA related credentials himself, being a two-time Mundials champ.

Warren did seem to have some submission defense from his fight with KID, but on the ground, KID isn't in the same league as Bibiano.

So, Warren is going to employ sprawl and brawl, and Fernandes will attempt to pull guard. Straightforward enough.

My Take:
I picked against Warren with confidence at DREAM.7 against Chase Beebe, I picked against him with extreme confidence against KID at DREAM.9.

Well, I'm doing it once more (but not with confidence). Bibiano by submission, Round Two.

If I'm wrong, I will not pick against Warren for a long time.

Warren is at 1.56, while Fernandes at 2.50, so of course Fernandes is where my money is.


Hideo Tokoro vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
(63kg/139lbs)

Hideo Tokoro
22-16-1



+Good kickboxing
+Highly dangerous submissions off back
+Very good, positional based grappling

-Not a great wrestler
-Very weak striking power, with just two (T)KOs to his name




Hiroyuki Takaya
16-6-1



+Good technical boxer
+Top-notch sprawl

-Poor grappler and never submitted anyone
-No aggressive wrestling








Analysis:
Tokoro is the more well-rounded and multi-dimensional fighter of the two, but will he be able to take advantage of it?

If Tokoro can get it to the ground, it could spell trouble for Takaya. But Takaya's sprawl is awesome, and his striking is better than Tokoro's, so the fight looks like a particularly unkind one for Tokoro.

My Take:
Takaya is the perfect counter to Tokoro, and I think he'll score a TKO, Round Two.

Takaya enters at 1.40, while Tokoro is at 2.90—which is too good of a line to pass up, so I'll have to go with Tokoro.

Extra Prediction:

Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
(63kg/139lbs)

Well, Takaya has a striking advantage, as nearly everyone Fernandes has faced in the GP had, but once again Fernandes has a monumental advantage grappling and has taken nearly every fighter he has ever faced to the mat.

But in order to get here, Fernandes would have fought Warren, which could be an incredible tax on his energy—but Takaya would hardly have got here easily either.

My Take:
Fernandes by unanimous decision, taking Takaya to the mat through sweeps and regular wrestling.

Recap on GP odds:

Bibiano Fernandes
3.00

Joe Warren
1.87

Hideo Tokoro
14.00

Hiroyuki Takaya
3.00

Field (any fighter not listed)
13.00

Tokoro is worth a small play as well as field—anyone at odds like that is value, and any anything can happen in a GP. Bibiano enters at decent odds, so he has my money.

Welcome to Rated Next, a new segment we're trying out here to bring attention to fighters who may be flying under the radar of anyone outside of the hardcore set.

The fighters profiled here will be people that will soon be making a splash with the mainstream set and since I like having the upper hand and knowing about a guy before the Affliction-adorned masses start bastardizing their names, I thought I'd share them with you from time to time.

First up is Joe Warren.

It's not often that I throw my unwavering support behind a fighter who is just 2-0 and will turn 33 in 28 days, one more than it will take for me to turn 31. Send presents.

But Joe Warren is an exception to the rule; he's a former World Champion Greco-Roman wrestler who was favored for gold at the Beijing Olympics before testing positive for THC and being handed a two-year suspension.

As an aside, can someone please tell me how weed is a performance enhancer? Unless you're entering a Cheetos eating competition or a sleep challenge, you're not getting any edge from weed...at least that's what I've heard.

After missing out on the Olympics, Warren began his transition to MMA by joining forces with fellow Greco-Roman wrestling standout and Team Quest founder Dan Henderson. On March 8, 2009, Warren made his MMA debut as part of the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix against former WEC Featherweight champ Chase Beebe at DREAM 7.

When the fighters separated at the end of the first round, Warren was awarded the win after Beebe was unable to continue due to a cut above his right eye.

A little more than two months later, Warren returned to Japan and the second round of the Featherweight Grand Prix, where he would meet the returning Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. Once a consensus top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, Yamamoto was coming off a layoff of over 500 days, but was still the heavy favorite, having only lost once in 19 previous fights.

As the judge's decision was read, Joe Warren's hands were raised; the American scored a Split Decision victory over his more experienced opponent and is now set for final two rounds this Tuesday where he'll once again be the underdog in his semifinal fight against Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes (5-2).

To put Warren's accomplishments into perspective a little, the first two victories of his career came over figthers with a combined record of 29-4 with one No Contest prior to having faced the former Michigan Wolverine.

Even if he doesn't emerge victorious in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Warren's star is certainly on the rise and he will be a fighter you hear a lot about in the coming months.

Just as Gegard Mousasi came out of nowhere to become a critic's darling and now full-fledged superstar after winning the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix, a continued Cinderella performance and tournament victory would do the same for Warren.

Win or lose, Joe Warren is Rated Next.

(picture courtesy of Sherdog.com)

Fight fans talk about the dream matchups they'd like to see whenever they're given the opportunity. We breakdown mythical battles, sizing up the skills of the two combatants and diagnosing the fight as if it were happening before our very eyes.

Often times, we pick pairings that could not conceivably happen; organizational allegiances, differences in weight classes and any number of circumstances and situations make some of these fights impossible.

While hoped-for battles like Brock Lesnar versus Fedor Emelianenko, and Anderson Silva versus Lyoto Machida are on the verge of taking place in the coming calendar year, here are ten more fights that if they could take place, every fight fan would be interested in seeing.

10. Alistair Overeem vs. Anyone

Strikeforce's heavyweight champion has yet to defend his belt, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been fighting. The Dutch fighter has spent 2009 competing in K-1 events, recently defeating kickboxing legend Peter Aerts to advance in the World Grand Prix 16.

But it's been nearly a year now since he took part in an MMA event and it would be nice to see "The Demolition Man" defend his belt for once. Ideally, that defense would come against Fedor, but at this point, beggars can't be choosers. Just getting Overeem inside the cage would be an accomplishment.

9. Ronald "Jacare" Souza vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller III

Technically, Jacare could argue there is no need for a trilogy fight. After all, Mayhem has yet to defeat the Brazilian Abu Dhabi Superfight winner, as their second fight ended in a No Contest after Miller soccer kicked a downed Souza.

However, these two talk more trash about each other than anyone outside of Rampage and Rashad. And you know that should Miller come away with the Strikeforce Middleweight title around his waist, Jacare will be at the front of the line for his first defense.

If that scenario actually transpires, bump this one up to the top-five fights for 2010.

8. Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles II

You know the WEC is eventually going to make this happen, provided Bowles gets passed Dominick Cruz in his first defense and Torres can earn a win in his return to the cage.

Much like there was a need for Mike Brown and Urijah Faber to lock horns for a second time, the same theory applies here. Bowles stopped the long-standing champion and deserves the accolades being bestowed upon him.

But Torres deserves a chance for redemption, just as Faber did.

7. Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber III

Normally, trilogy fights that occur when one guy is already up 2-0 don't make sense. But this is one of those cases where an exception needs to be made.

Despite twice defeating "The California Kid," many still give Mike Brown's title reign the "Yeah But Treatment":

Person A: Brown beat him clean the first time.
Person B: Yeah but Faber was trying a spinning back elbow and just got caught.

Person A: Faber got beat in all five rounds the second time.
Person B: Yeah, but Faber broke his hand early and wasn't 100 percent.

Beating Faber a third consecutive time will silence what few critics remain, not that Mike Brown really needs to.

6. Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir III

Speaking of silencing the critics...

The two have traded victories, so a rubber match makes sense on that point alone.

Add in the fact that these two just plain don't like each other and Lesnar has more critics than the ocean has fish, and you have a PPV spectacular. Tell me that wouldn't look great atop the marquee at the 2010 year-end show in Las Vegas.

5. Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen II

While this one may be a complete unknown to some fight fans, the Bellator lightweight champ and the Norwegian known as "Hellboy" need to square off again in a big way.

For starters, their first fight was near the top of everyone's Fight of the Year lists for 2008 and with good reason; they beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes with Alvarez winning a unanimous decision and advancing in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.

But then came the twist: Alvarez was injured in his semi-final win over Tatsuya Kawajiri, so Hansen earned the right to act as his replacement by defeating Kultar Gill. Guess who ended up winning the finals?

Hansen laid a beating on Shinya Aoki, claiming the tournament and the DREAM Lightweight title. While Aoki is getting the first crack at Hansen and his title, Alvarez certainly deserves an opportunity as well.

4. Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone

Regardless of the results of Cerrone's upcoming bout at WEC 43 against Ben "Smooth" Henderson, this one has got to go down before 2010 comes to a close.

Varner has been sidelined with various injuries since these two first met in January. Cerrone caught Varner with an illegal knee. When the champ couldn't continue, it went to the scorecards and Varner came away with a split decision.

Ever since, Donald Cerrone has looked like a man possessed and talked smack about Varner whenever he could. Once Varner is medically cleared to return to the cage, this grudge match will get signed.

3. Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher III

This one is a combination of Lesnar/Mir and Alvarez/Hansen.

Like the UFC heavyweights, they've split the first two meetings, so breaking the tie certainly seems reasonable. Like the DREAM lightweights, each of their encounters has found their way onto Fight of the Year lists.

Stout has said he is very much interested in completing the trilogy and a route to the third installment could shape up in the next couple months because Fisher meets Joe Stevenson at UFC 106 and Stout has been reported to be facing Joe Lauzon at UFC 108.

2. Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Despite what he's said, Rampage isn't retired.

He's angry at Dana White, and rightfully so, which means that for now, he's focused on filming The A-Team. But once the movie wraps and he and El Presidente sit down, swear at each other, and end the talk with hugs and hand-pounds, Rampage will be back and his first order of business will be settling things with Rashad.

There is too much real heat between these two for this fight to not take place. Not to mention all the money the UFC invested in building the feud even more by pairing the two opposite each other on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre

This one might be a longshot, but it is unquestionably the biggest fight that stands a chance of taking place right now.

Both have cleaned out their divisions and a pairing of these two superstars would eclipse the largest number of viewers the UFC has put up in pay-per-view buys to date.

St-Pierre has said that he would like to add the additional 15 pounds of muscle needed to make the 185 pound limit properly, building muscle and then cutting to weight. With the welterweight division in total disarray, sorting out the standings while "Rush" packs on the pounds could be a possibility.