Aoki Back to Winning Ways at Dream 15

For those who wrote off the rest of July due to the lack of action in major North American MMA organizations, “tsk, tsk!”  Dream put on a great show the other night, featuring Shinya Aoki returning to a more hospitable environment following his disappointing effort against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce.  Facing Tatsuya Kawajiri, the stage was set for a memorable bout, and as usual, Aoki didn’t disappoint.

After a long struggle and a brave effort from Kawajiri, Aoki finally forced the tap by cranking a tight Achilles lock that appeared to leave Kawajiri injured after the bout’s conclusion.  Aoki celebrated his win as excitedly as usual, but showed consideration to his opponent that was a huge contrast to the middle finger treatment that Mizuto Hirota got on New Year’s Eve.

Aoki quickly shot in for a single-leg takedown within ten seconds of the start of the bout, which was deftly defended by Kawajiri, who looked to take the top position as Aoki went to his back.  However, Aoki still had the left leg of Kawajiri firmly in his possession, and he immediately went to work on it.  Kawajiri caught Aoki with the heel of his other foot as he kicked away at his opponent’s face, hoping to free himself in the process, but Aoki held on regardless.

In other action, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante defeated Katsunori Kikuno in a rather pedestrian decision that one judge even gave to Kikuno.The opening ten minutes featured Cavalcante working hard for takedowns while Kikuno focused on kicking the legs and body of his opponent.  The second, however, was much more decisive, with Cavalcante getting mount and then taking the back of Kikuno, threatening his opponent right up until the final bell.

Coming back strong from a recent defeat to “King Mo” Lawal, Gegard Mousasi made quick work of UFC veteran Jake O’Brien in the semifinals of the light heavyweight grand prix.  O’Brien, who had trouble cutting weight and couldn’t make the contracted limit at the weigh-ins, had obviously seen better days, and succumbed to a standing guillotine just 31 seconds into the bout.

O’Brien rather lazily shot in for a double-leg takedown almost immediately, and Mousasi was able to sprawl and keep O’Brien at bay.  O’Brien did get Mousasi to the mat for an instant, but the highly-ranked light heavyweight quickly sprang back up and cinched in a guillotine on O’Brien’s exposed neck, coaxing a quick tap in the process.  Mousasi got back in the “W” column and advanced to the final of the grand prix, thanks to his performance.

Mousasi will meet Tatsuya Mizuno, who submitted Melvin Manhoef with a first-round kimura.  While the outcome wasn’t exactly a huge shock, due to Manhoef’s well-known struggles with the submission game, the way that it took place was quite a surprise.  Mizuno actually set up his submission with punches from the standing position, as as he was able to rock Manhoef during a wild exchange that followed a lengthy sequence of ground fighting that may have worn the slugger down.

From there, it was academic as Mizuno started locking up the kimura almost immediately, and shortly thereafter forced Manhoef to tap.  Earlier in the fight, Manhoef had planted Mizuno on his backside with a right hand before nearly getting caught in a keylock minutes later.

Michihiro Omigawa won his fourth straight fight after repeatedly working for a guillotine finally paid off against Young Sam Jung.  Jung was rocked earliy in the fight by the hands of Omigawa, who then worked for a guillotine, but couldn’t get it.  Later on, Jung pulled guard to avoid the flurries of Omigawa, which led to Omigawa advancing position and sinking in a guillotine from the mount for the win.

In other bouts, Mitsuhiro Ishida defeated “DJ” Hata in a dominating decision.  Hata had little to offer Ishida on the feet or on the mat, though he was able to survive for the entire fifteen minutes.  Also, Kazuhiro Nakamura won a rather lackluster decision over Karl Amoussou, thanks to his emphasis on takedowns, control and positioning over the fifteen minutes of the bout.

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Tags: DREAM, Dream 15, Gegard Mousasi, Gesias Cavalcante, Jake O'Brien, Katsunori Kikuno, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Melvin Manhoef, Michihiro Omigawa, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Tatsuya Mizuno