[Twist of Lemon]

Non-Tournament Bouts
Motoki Miyazawa vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Joseph Benavidez
Mark Hunt vs. Alistair Overeem

Lightweight Tournament Reserve Bout
Joachim Hansen vs. Kultar Gill

Lightweight Tournament Semi-Finals
Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Shinya Aoki vs. Caol Uno

If you like MMA and don't want Dana White's bullshit, this and Affliction are your cards.

[Dakstang]

Interesting stuff.

I will definitely check this out.

And I can't wait for Affliction: Banned!

[Twist of Lemon]

I'm still kind of bummed that CroCop pulled out of the LeBanner fight, but Hunt on the card makes up for it. HOPEFULLY Hunt mans up and fights Kharitonov but in all likely hood they'll make him fight some over weight Hong Man Choi look alike.

Affliction should be great to, barring any craziness Elite XC-esque shenanagins.

[Twist of Lemon]

Updated with Jerome LeBanner confirmed as the person facing Hunt.

[Suffy]

Le Banner vs Hunt sounds pretty sick, hopefully a good KO.

And I guess we get to see if Uno is back and fo real or maybe another AokiPlata,

[Twist of Lemon]

Alistair Overeem replaces LeBanner due to Jerome still being alittle knocked up from his last K1 fight.

[Twist of Lemon]

Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) vs. Andy Ologun (Pictures)
Round 1
Ologun kicks Nakamura’s legs out from under him. Nakamura attempts a leg lock but Ologun has none of it. The fighters stand and exchange punches. Nakamura pulls guard and immediately goes for an armbar. He secures the arm and quickly forces a tap. The official time is 3:41 of the first.

Shinya Aoki (Pictures) vs. Caol Uno (Pictures)
Round 1
The fighters play a chase game as they are both hesitant to close any distance. Aoki starts to stalk his opponent while throwing front kicks. Aoki pulls Uno to the ground and ends up in mount. Uno reverses the position and fights off an armbar. Uno, now in Aoki’s guard, is playing a dangerous game. Aoki locks up an arm and then a leg. Aoki isolates Uno’s right leg and attempts a heel hook. He inverts the hold and it’s deep. Uno, wearing shoes, frees himself after a few tense moments. Uno scrambles to get to his feet and ends up with Aoki on his back with a body-triangle. Aoki looks for a rear-naked choke, but Uno is game. He controls the wrists and turns over. He takes the top position, but is immediately caught in one of the fastest triangle-choke transitions you’ll ever see. Uno looks to be finished but he hands on and defends the choke and an armbar attempt. The crowd erupts as Uno stands to his feet before the bell sounds to close the round. Great action.

Round 2
Uno rushes in to throw his right hand and is easily taken down with a single-leg by Aoki. From half-guard, Aoki throws hammer fists with his left hand. Aoki wastes little time in getting to Uno’s back. Aoki gives it up to mount, but he’s low on Uno’s hips. Uno elbows the body and finds Aoki on his back again with a tight body triangle. Uno reverses and gets to Aoki’s guard. Aoki goes high with his legs in a rubber-guard. Time expires.

Jordan Breen scores the fight for Shinya Aoki.

Mike Fridley also gives the nod to Aoki.

All three official judges agree and award Shinya Aoki a unanimous decision.

Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures)
Round 1
The fighters meet in the center of the ring and Alvarez is greeted with an inside-leg kick. Alvarez drops levels and is caught in a headlock. Kawajiri knees the head but he does not connect solid. Alvarez gets off his knees and clinches against the ropes. Referee Yuji Shimada breaks the stalemate and restarts the action. Kawajiri cracks Alvarez with two right hands. A small cut on the side of Alvarez’s right eye opens. The fighters trade and Alvarez gets the best of it as Kawajiri is dropped by a left, right combination. Alvarez pounces but can’t finish. Kawajiri gets to his feet. Time is called to check Alvarez’s cut. The fight is resumed and Alvarez is immediately floored with a right hand. Alvarez regroups and puts Kawajiri in closed-guard. Kawajiri clears the legs and moves to mount from half-guard. Kawajiri lands short right hands to the head as Shimada asks for more action. Alvarez makes it to his feet and an all-out slugfest ensues. Both fighters fall from power punches only to stand and trade. A right straight and a right uppercut collapse Kawajiri to the canvas. Alvarez walks away with his hands raised but Shimada doesn’t call the fight. Alvarez realizes the fight is still on so he finishes with punches on his downed opponent. Shimada calls a halt to the contest at the 7:35 mark of round one. Incredible fight.

Tournament Reserve Bout:
Joachim Hansen (Pictures) vs. Kultar Gill (Pictures)
Round 1
Hansen clinches and his hit with hard knees from the Thai plum. A fast knee bounces off Hansen’s chin but he catches the leg and works from the clinch. Hansen locks up a standing kimura before dropping down to his back. He transitions from a triangle choke to an armbar and forces a quick tap from Gill. The end comes at 2:33 of the opening stanza.

Joseph Benavidez (Pictures) vs. Junya Kudo (Pictures)
Round 1
Benavidez starts with a front kick and a takedown. From Kudo’s guard, Benavidez lands a right hand. Benavidez stands and kicks Kudo in the back as he tried to follow him to the feet. After eating a right hand, Benavidez lifts Kudo high into the air and deposits him powerfully on the canvas. He moves to mount and secures a tapout with a guillotine from the top position. The official time is 2:42 of the first.

Motoki Miyazawa (Pictures) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures)
Round 1
Hironaka misses with two straight rights and goes to the clinch along the ropes. Miyazawa pulls standing guard but can’t hold it. Miyazawa knees the right thigh of Hironaka before the stalemate is broken up. The fight resumes and Miyazawa clinches and pulls guard. Miyazawa uses a rubber guard, but Hironaka wants nothing to do with it. He stands over Miyazawa and scores with a hard left hand aimed straight downward. The referee stands the fighters up. Hironaka connects with a hard right low kick. Miyazawa complains of an eye poke but the referee looks away. A one two started with a jab lands for Hironaka. Miyazawa, bleeding above his left eye and from the nose, looks tentative as he circles away from his opponent. Blood trickles from the nose of Hironaka now. He turns up the pressure with two short punching flurries. A right hand at the end of the burst lands clean. A straight right snaps Miyazawa’s head backwards. A large cut is opened above the left eye near the nose. The cut is bad and the replay shows a lot of force striking the eye. The fight is called due to the cut at the 8:57 mark. Hironaka is victorious.

Hideo Tokoro (Pictures) vs. Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures)
Round 1
After a feeling-out process, Tokoro unintentionally kicks Yamazaki in the groin. He is given time to recover. The action is resumed and Yamazaki gets a single-leg. From guard, Tokoro looks for an armbar. Yamazaki passes to side-control but he has little room to work as they are pinned near the ropes. Tokoro slips out the backdoor and gets to his feet. Yamazaki catches him in a guillotine as he stood, but it is defended. Tokoro drops Yamazaki down with a right-handed haymaker. Yamazaki stands and is caught in a standing Kimura. He frees himself and tastes a left hand. Tokoro goes back to the groin with a hard right kick. Time is called. Tokoro is given a yellow card for the foul. Action resumes and leather is swung. Both fighters swing wildy but nothing connects solid. Yamazaki gets a single and transitions to Tokoro’s back. Tokoro goes for a kneebar and turns it to a heel hook. Yamazaki clears danger and takes the top position in side-control. The referee repositions the fighters in the center of the ring. Tokoro gets to guard. He upkicks and slaps on a triangle. He passes Yamazaki’s left shoulder but he can’t secure the choke. Yamazaki goes back to side-control and lands some right-handed hammer fists before the horn sounds.

Round 2
Tokoro scores with a left hook. Yamazaki drops levels for a single and finds himself in a standing kimura. The referee quickly separates the fighters. Tokoro connects with a right-legged head kick and a straight right punch. Yamazaki lands a sloppy superman punch and shoots for another single. Tokoro defends and goes back to the left arm with a kimura. The referee steps in to repair a loose glove on Yamazaki. Action is restarted on the feet. Yamazaki gets a fast takedown with less than two minutes remaining. Yamazaki and Tokoro trade positions on the ground from side-control to full-guard for the duration of the bout.

Jordan Breen scores the fight for Hideo Tokoro

Mike Fridley also gives the decision to Tokoro.

All three official judges see the bout likewise, giving Tokoro the unanimous decision.

It was just announced that Joachim Hansen will replace Eddie Alvarez in the tournament final due to a cut near the American’s right eye.

Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures)
Round 1
Akiyama is wearing a gi. They trade lowkicks and Shibata scores with a straight right. Akiyama snaps off a hard lowkick that slams into its target. Three minutes in and both fighters are hesitant to engage. Akiyama goes for a spinning back kick and eats a right hand for his effort. Akiyama misses a wild head kick and trips Shibata to the canvas. From side-control, Akiyama stays patient and moves gracefully to the mount. Akiyama grabs his own sleeve, wraps it around Shibata’s neck and chokes him to sleep. The referee does his job perfectly and spots that Shibata is out cold. Shibata didn’t appear to be in danger in real time as the positioning wasn’t very tight, but replays show Akiyama’s sleeve around the neck. The official time is 6:34 of the first.

Mark Hunt (Pictures) vs. Alistair Overeem (Pictures)
Round 1
Hunt steps forward first and throws a hard right hand that misses. Hunt pushes Overeem to the mat. Overeem slaps on a rare keylock from his back. With Mark Hunt on top of him, Overeem puts his leg around Hunt’s head and finishes the technique. Hunt taps as his elbow and shoulder were hyper extended.

Tournament Finals
Shinya Aoki (Pictures) vs. Joachim Hansen
Round 1
Hansen winds up on a right hook and is taken down easily. Aoki is bidding his time as he patiently waits to pass to half guard. He succeeds. Hansen accidentally kicks the groin of Aoki. Time is called but the action is restarted quickly. Hansen misses another huge punch and finds himself in Aoki’s guard. Hansen absolutely tees off with straight hands. Still in Aoki’s guard, Hansen lunges in with a left hand on Aoki’s jaw. Aoki rolls over and is hurt. Hansen pounces with punches and the bout is stopped. Aoki was dazed from the blows and appeared to tap from the strikes. Joachim Hansen, an alternate, claims the Dream lightweight tournament.

Great show, my thoughts post fight are Shibata needs to fight some lower level people, because hes getting thrown to the wolves in DREAM. Hunt needs to stop taking fighters to the ground where he doesn't have the advantage because he ALWAYS gets tapped there.

Also Aoki sure likes crying a lot =\

[Spinoff360]

Hadn't heard about Dream until the other day when I was flipping through channels and HDNET were showing previous Dream events leading up to the live broadcast of Dream 5 which I also ended up watching of course because I am really impressed with what I have seen. Much better than UFC, EliteXC etc.

As for Shibata. At least he put up a decent fight this time unlike the fight against Jason Miller at Dream 3. But yeah he either needs some better opponents to let him build as a fighter or go back to NJPW.