Japanese MMA

Earlier today, FEG officials announced that UFC veteran Caol Uno will return to Japan and make his first drop to the featherweight division when he takes on DREAM featherweight contender Kazuyuki Miyata.    

Dynamite!! 2010 will take place at the Saitama Super Arena. It will feature two title fights as Bibiano Fernandes takes on Hiroyuki Takaya in a rematch for the DREAM featherweight title.

Also, the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba will take on DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis.

Uno hasn't fought since losing to Gleison Tibau via first round TKO at Ultimate Fight Night 21 back in March.  Earlier this year, Uno also announced that he would retire if he lost his next bout, so it'll be interesting to see if he sticks to his word.

Since dropping to featherweight, Kazuyuki Miyata has reinvigorated his career winning five straight.  In Miyata's last fight, he defeated former Shooto lightweight champion Takeshi Inoue in a very convincing unanimous decision. 

Antonio Inoki made an appearance at the Dynamite press conference and announced he would be the executive producer of Dynamite.

FEG officials also announced that DREAM title fights will be consist of 10-5-5 (10 minute first round, 5 minute second round, 5 minute third round).

Also added to the fight card is Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Tetsuya Yamamoto in a K-1 bout (3x3 minute rounds).

In other news, FEG officials offered fights to Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and Strikeforce welterweight star Paul Daley, but both fighters declined to fight in Japan on New Years.

Dynamite!! 2010 Fight Card Thus Far

Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (for DREAM featherweight title)

Marius Zaromskis vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (for DREAM welterweight title)  

Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashima (Special rules match)

Josh Thomson vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (DREAM bout)

Caol Uno vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (DREAM bout)

Tetsuya Yamamoto vs. Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura (K-1 rules match)

Before earning his second career MMA victory at Dream.16 over Japanese legend Ikuhisa Minowa, Satoshi Ishii, gold medalist in Judo at the 2008 Olympic Games, expressed his interest in challenging three-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Peter Aerts in a kickboxing fight to test his stand-up skills.

On Saturday, Aerts defeated Ewerton Teixiera and qualified for the K-1 World Grand Prix Final, ruling out a fight with Ishii in 2010.

However, FEG President Sadaharu Tanikawa still has the immensely popular Ishii will participate at the Final on December 11. 

"Aerts is in the Final 8, but how about [Jerome] Le Banner as an opponent for Ishii?" Tanikawa said. If Le Banner would happen to be be unavailable, the president also mentioned Teixeira, a Kyokushin karate expert, as a possible opponent for the judoka.

K-1 legend Jerome Le Banner also participated at Saturday's Final 16 event but forfeited his match against K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro when he refused to return to the ring after the judges called for an extension round at the end of regulation time, a decision Le Banner was very upset with.

The rumored Le Banner-Ishii matchup would serve as a "Superfight" to take place before the quarterfinal round of the Grand Prix commences. It is not known if the fight would serve as a replacement fight, in which the winner would be a fill-in for any fighter injured in the final rounds of the tournament.

There are many obvious and attractive reasons for K-1 to schedule this fight.

For one, the Japanese TV ratings for last week's Final 16 were reportedly mediocre, and any appearance by Japanese superstar Ishii would nearly guarantee a solid rating for K-1.

Secondly, there is a large market for a judo versus kickboxing matchup in Japan, similar to the boxing versus MMA showdown between James Toney and Randy Couture in the UFC. Japanese fans are keen on hybrid martial arts matches, as evidenced in the past (i.e. Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner and Olympic judoka Hidehiko Yoshida at Pride Shockwave 2004).

Last spring after claiming the gold medal in Judo at the Olympic Games in Beijing in the summer of 2008, Satoshi Ishii announced his intentions to commit to a career in mixed martial arts. The frenzy to sign the 23-year-old began shortly after, and every promotion in the world, including the UFC, lined up to make their pitch to the free agent.

In the end, after rejecting an offer from Dream and its parent company FEG, Ishii chose to sign with World Victory Road, the promoters of Sengoku. He has yet to compete for the company.

Despite his inactivity with Sengoku, Ishii made his much-anticipated MMA debut last December at the annual Dynamite!! event, losing to fellow Japanese icon Yoshida by decision. This May, he defeated Tafa Misipati by submission before greatly advancing his career with his defeat of "Minowaman" by decision at Dream.16 on September 25.

It is safe to say that Le Banner (76-19-1-(1) in kickboxing), the 2002 K-1 World Grand Prix runner-up, would be the heavy favorite in the potential fight with Ishii. Even though Le Banner has lost six of his last 10 fights, and Ishii's stand-up appeared to be greatly improved against Minowa, the "Bulldog of Normandy" still possesses massive power in his hands, and his skills would most likely be too much for a K-1 rookie such as Ishii to handle.

Other than the four quarterfinal matches of the K-1 World Grand Prix, no matches have been confirmed for the December 11 card. K-1 usually holds off on all official announcements until close to the scheduled event date. Much more is expected to come.

After an exciting month of MMA action, we approach the week of UFC 119 with much anticipation as to whether the legend of Mirko Cro Cop can beat Frank Mir's deadly submission skills,

Speaking of skills, I now propose an exciting battle between two great fighters from the Land of the Rising Sun, as it is once again time for us to Agree To Disagree!

From the beginning of PRIDE and other MMA organizations to this day with companies like DREAM and K-1, the discussion over the world's best lightweight has raged on like a fearless wildfire.

Some say Takanori Gomi, others say Shinya Aoki, while even some argue still for BJ Penn, and some others will make a case for Frankie Edgar or Gilbert Melendez.

We already have seen what happened when Penn fought Edgar twice, and we already know what happened when Gomi fought Penn.

But we've never seen Takanori Gomi test himself against a guy with the submission skills of Shinya Aoki.

So knowing that, what would happen if you put Aoki in the cage with someone with the wrestling and the knockout power of Gomi?

On one hand, Aoki has earned his nickname, and not because the majority of his wins were by way of submission.

He's called "Tobikan Judan," The Master of Flying Submissions because every submission he's locked in and won with has seemed to come out of nowhere.

Even the submission he had on against his last opponent looked like it came from out of nothing.

Aoki has submissions and he doesn't have a problem going for more than just one round, even if he comes out losing the fight like he did against Melendez. However, he's got a hole in his game that everyone knows about, which is that he isn't a striker.

He's a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a Class-A Shootist in the art of Shooto.

Gomi would be dealing with one of the sport's best submission specialists if he ever fought him in the cage, but think of what Gomi would also have to offer Aoki.

Gomi is also a Class-A Shootist in the hybrid martial art of Shooto, but unlike Aoki, he is a man who can stand and trade with almost any opponent as well as take them down.

He's been boxing for quite a long time, before he even got into the sport of MMA, and while he's not the Lightweight Division's best boxer, you have to admit he's not bad when he throws a few punches in a fight.

I don't have to really mention that Aoki would have a tough time standing with Gomi, and not just because Gomi's never been knocked out or even cut in his career.

Granted, Aoki's only TKO career win was by way of a cut, but he's not really a bleeder himself and he's also not one to always go for the knockout.

If it goes to the ground, the fight would definitely be more to Aoki's favor in a way, at least compared to how the fight would go if it stayed on the feet.

I see Gomi only having trouble with Aoki in a fight if Gomi tries to take the fight to the ground, because as I've said and as everyone knows, Aoki's submissions can come from anywhere at anytime during the fight.

If the fight stays standing, that's when Gomi could easily knock out Aoki with either one hard left hand, but that's just how I see it.

What do you think about this fight?

Who would prevail in this battle of Japanese sensations if the fight was ever made possible?

Once again, you are now free to Agree To Disagree!

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Joe Warren is a world champion Greco Roman wrestler. He was at the pinnacle of his sport, and there was nothing really left to accomplish, except maybe earning an Olympic medal.

However, Warren is not the type of guy to just sit back and call it a day. Instead, he set his eyes on Japan.

Warren is not your typical wrestler, though. His aggression is renowned, and his relentless pace makes him a handful for anyone. This is why it was so shocking when no one gave Warren the respect he desrved when he bust onto the scene against Chase Beebe.

Baptised by fire he was given the much experiened Beebe, who had just fought for the WEC crown only a little less than a year prior, Warren beat him to a pulp until the doctor had to step in to save him after the first round.

It seemed he was getting some recognition then, but he unfortunately had to face tournament favorite Kid Yamamoto. Yamamoto had been on a rampage, tearing up the competition. Warren was unphased. He stepped into the fight, showed great chin, and took down Yamamoto at will. He pounded him out to a decision victory and looked extremely impressive.

Now, Warren has had months to train at Xtreme Couture and has learned the ins and out of the game. The FW division better be aware, because a bigger and badder Warren is coming to the table next time.

With an amped up sub defense and better striking, Warren can control the fight in any facet.

His next opponent is Biiano Fernandes. A BJJ wizard, Bibiano may seem like a stylistic disadvantage for Joe, but not to be. Since Joe is the most highly-decorated wrestler in MMA today, and the most so since Rulon Gardner, he is basically impossible to take down.

Not to mention, Yamamoto had already smashed Bibiano. This bodes well for Warren, as he will most likely have the striking edge after his time at Xtreme Couture.

The final will pit him against either Tokoro or Takaya. Takaya is known for his striking, while Tokoro is known for his unorthodox submissions. Tokoro is a heavy favorite in that battle and is expected to win.

If he takes on Warren in the final, his only hope is his crazy submissions, but Warren's quick reactions and strength should prevent any fluke win. Therefore, Warren is the easy winner.

With more credentials than any wrestler that has come to MMA in years--more than Couture, Coleman, Henderson, Fitch, Hughes, etc.--Warren will be a tall order for anyone to handle.

Simply put, he's unstoppable.