Reasons to Watch Dream 16 (And Quick Picks)

If you have been following the MMA news lately, you know that things are not exactly looking up for Dream, the spiritual successor to Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. Still, in the words of Bob Seger, “we’ve got tonight”, so instead of worry about whether Dream will still be around at this time next year, let’s talk about what fans should be looking for tonight.

For the night owls among us, one great part of being an MMA fan has always been staying up late to watch live events from the other side of the planet, such as Pride, K-1, and now Dream and Sengoku. Therefore, if you count yourself among the ever-growing number of MMA fans and you are fortunate enough to have a cable provider that still carries HDNet, you should give some thought to checking out Dream late tonight.

If free live MMA isn’t good enough for ya, here are some reasons to check out Dream 16:

For Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Mayhem is a strong favorite in the eyes of most to defeat the aging legend Sakuraba, but Miller has added some tension to the proceedings by pointing out that his true goal is not to beat, but to submit Sakuraba. Saku has not been submitted in the last 14 years, so that would be quite a feat. Both of these fighters are entertaining, and Saku will always have the spirit to put on a good show, regardless of physical ailments, so we’ll just hope for the best with this one.

To see what will Shinya Aoki do next

Love him or hate him, Aoki almost always gives a performance that you will remember for one reason or another. Whether it’s subjecting his opponent to a slick (and brutally painful) submission, flipping off the crowd, or all of the above, Aoki is unpredictable and fun to watch. His fight against Marcus Aurelio should be a good one- Aurelio will keep Aoki honest- well, as honest as possible- as he can put up plenty of resistance to Aoki’s skills throughout the bout.

To get a glimpse of Gegard Mousasi

Before the loss to Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal, Mousasi was hailed by even the extremely-biased Dana White as one of the best light heavyweights in the world. Since then, Mousasi is no longer the cat’s meow (yeah, I said “the cat’s meow”), but he’s still an extremely talented fighter. He’ll be facing Tatsuya Mizuno tonight, who won’t give him a huge challenge, but seeing Mousasi in action is always good.

To see how will Satoshi Ishii look

Satoshi Ishii, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in judo, was supposed to set the world on fire when he transitioned to MMA, but has yet to do so, splitting his first two fights in the sport. He’ll face the durable but undersized Ikuhisa Minowa, who seems to be continuing down the Kazushi Sakuraba path by facing larger opponents. Ishii will outweigh Minowa by over 30 pounds, so anything less than a convincing victory might as well be a loss.

To find out if Joachim Hansen can right the ship

Hansen, long known as one of MMA’s better strikers, is on a three-fight slide for the first time in his career. Tonight, he’ll face grappler Hideo Tokoro in a matchup that may allow us to see Hansen’s striking shine again.

For all the other stuff

Let’s face it: Japanese MMA shows just have a great “feel” to them. From the dramatic opening and sometimes perplexing video packages to the theatrical entrances and always-entertaining announcing of Lenne Hardt, aka “Crazy Pride Lady”, every part of the proceedings is delightfully over-the-top.

Here are my picks:

Sakuraba vs. Mayhem- Mayhem by decision
Ishii vs. Minowa- Ishii by submission
Aoki vs. Aurelio- Aoki by decision
Mousasi vs. Mizuno- Mousasi by KO/TKO
Hansen vs. Tokoro- Hansen by KO/TKO

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: DREAM, Dream 16, Gegard Mousasi, Hideo Tokoro, Ikuhisa Minowa, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Joachim Hansen, Kazushi Sakuraba, Marcus Aurelio, Satoshi Ishii, Shinya Aoki