The first round of the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix took place this morning during the DREAM 2 event from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Not all went according to plan for at least one of the favorites in the field. In addition, the lightweight grand prix semifinal field is now set thanks to the “do over” fight between Shinya Aoki and Gesias “JZ” Calvancante.
Check out the quick results after the jump.
Shinya Aoki defeats Gesias “JZ” Calvancante via unanimous decision
Taiei Kin defeats Ikuhisa Minowa via unanimous decision
Dong Sik Yoon defeats Shungo Oyama via unanimous decision
Zelg Galesic defeats Magomed Sultanakhmedov via submission (armbar) in round one
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza defeats Ian Murphy via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Kiyoshi Tamura defeats Masakatsu Funaki via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Gegard Mousasi defeats Denis Kang via submission (triangle choke) in round one
Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Andrews Nakahara via submission (neck crank) in round one
DREAM 2 will air in North America on the HDNet Network on Saturday, May 3 at 10:30 p.m. ET. For those who can’t wait we’ll put the vids in the comments section below.
47 Comments »
weak. JZ got robbed. Should not have a do over.
but he lost the 2nd fight without a doubt, I was expecting more from JZ.
There definitely needs to be a third fight. JZ should have won the first fight. Aoki controlled the action in this fight and deserved the win, but he by no means dominated JZ. I give Aoki props though, he has some slick bjj.
I can’t stand the 10 minute first round. These guys gas after the first half of the round and are holding on for the second half. Also, it allows the fighters to collect themselves and think through any adjustments that need to be made to the game plan.
I don´t see the match, but the first time JZ got robbed and this time lost because the first match!!!
my money is on zelg galesic dont know wot kang’s crack is he needs to buck up his ideas or he is gonna drop his stock
Kang lost again, time for him to be removed from the top ten rankings. Wish I was able to see these fights!!
Yes, I agree, he’s not top 10. I remember only about 6 or 7 months ago I really wanted to see him in the UFC. What’s happened to him?…Maybe he was never that good to start with. I don’t know.
I understand Kang lost 2 fights recently but considering his opponents, I dont think its as bad as many people make it out to be. He lost to Akiyama, who is a very tough fighter, and Gerard Moussasi who is an absolute animal that gets better everytime I watch him fight!
If Kang signed with the UFC, I believe he would be a top 5 middleweight, I could be wrong!
I think you’re right. Travis Lutter was considered a top middleweight in the UFC. I would have to think if Kang signed, he would be immediately considered top five. Who else would rank above him? ( other than the obvious Silva,hendo,Franklin,Okami, Bisping)
i was thinking the same thing. about kang and wishing i could have watched it.maybee i’ll trto on the net today.
Wow!!!! upsets? I dunno, that’s how I feal!!! Kang lost, very surprised…. And this is a testament to how good Aoki is! I mean, no disrespect intended, but I was sure JZ would have won via TKO or complete ownage.
Zelg Galesic vs Magomed Sultanakhmedov
DREAM.2: Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti
This isn’t a vid of the fight by the way.
It’s just an ad for mmalinker.
Here is a link to the JZ vs Aoki 2 fight
http://www.mmatko.com/shinya-aoki-vs-jz-calvancante-2-fight-video-dream-2/
thanks
Denis Kang vs Gegard Mousasi DREAM 2
Looser, Denis Kang.
Idiot! Oh man, I’m upset cause I couldn’t get that kimura. So now, I’m not gonna even try to get out of this triangle.
I’m shocked. He just snuck in there and handed him a triangle. That’s not even getting caught. It’s just like, “here you go, Merry Christmas”.
agree….dive?
That was terrible. I don’t even know what else to say.
Wow, really left his arm hanging out there on that one. Damnit Kang.
Kang’s still feeling that uppercut from Akiyama.
War Gegard!!!
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Ian Murphy-Dream gp
thanks for the vids mania. i just commented on wanting to watch them right before i scrolled down to these. saves me alot of searching. thanks again.
IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU CAN POST THE JACARE FIGHT AGAIN???????????
I went to fight2live.net, but unfortunatelty I don’t speak or read Portugese, so I have no idea how to find it.
I really want to see this fight!
Thanks
Sakuraba vs Andrews Nakahara
Nakahara actually gave a good fight even though he was 0-0. There is no shame in loosing to saku in your first fight, even though saku is old.
jacare and sakuraba get amateur fighters? wonder who the fan favorites are? where’s trigg?
yeah, I didn’t like the way they had two fighters making their dayviews, but then again, there aren’t many top 200 pounders free on the market (except for arona), UFC got them all. trigg however, is way too light to be MW (in japan MW is LHW) and I think he’s also injured (I could be wrong on this, but I remember hearing something about that). Anyways, I still have high hopes for Dream, maybe in a couple of years the Grand Prix for MW will be more in depth, but the LW Grand Prix is stacked!
This tourney is for 185 weight class, not 205
really? I thought it was for 205, so they added a weight class in Dreams? It’s good to know, I like the 5 weight class system.
Dream 2 Kiyoshi Tamura vs Masakatsu Funaki
Good job getting those videos up there mania.
holy crap! Kang walked right into that triangle! He should be embarassed.
Thank’s for the vid’s. Shame the JZ/Aoki vid isn’t working.
I’m not surprized Aoki won, though.
Thanks for those Mania!!!
Long live Sakuraba! I love that guy
Sakuraba is an MMA GOD!!! When I go to bed at night, I pray to Jesus, Fedor and Sakuraba…lol, just kidding.
Seriously though, Sakuraba has given mma so many memorable moments. YOu have to love the guy!
kang lost again!!
nice flyer….love the graphic image
WAR SAKURABA
Mania, thanks a ton for these. Excellent work as always.
(The lawyers prevent similar posts for the UFC undercards?? That would be too sweet to check in on Sundays post-PPV like this.)
Is it just me or was the Tamura fight the only exciting one? and why did Kang go to the ground that quickly? he was doing fine in the standup.
Bummed Kang lost again, that really sucked. Gerard did well though for sure. But Kang gave him that triagnle.
aoki was like a snake constricting. awesome hooks
didnt exactly think these would be the results to some fights. awesome.
Looks like much ahsn’t changed with the Japanese fighting. Shady results,shady matchups,shady refs,shadijness overall. Man I love some of the Japanese promotions, and I used to think it got better in the later years in PRIDE, but I just never trust them. Aoki was suppsoed to go all the way in the first time, he faked being hurt,they clearly showed he didnt get hit in the back of the neck,yet it’s a NC. Sure he won this fight,but when the thrid? As much as people hate the UFC and american promotions, there’s no fixed shit. As for having the best lightweights…Sakuraba and a guy with no fights?Yeah that’s definitely the best of the best…