DREAM’s Year-End “Dynamite!!” Overeem vs. Duffee; Kyotaro vs Mousasi

FEG's Dream Dynamite!! Updates.  December 31, 2010 in Japan.  Kyotaro put to the test in fight against Mousasi!!  Todd Duffee confirmed he will be fighting Alistair Overeem.

Friday, December 31, 2010 / Gates Open: 14:00 (2 PM in Japan; 1 AM in Pacific Time Zone in California & 4 A.M. in ET) Start: 16:00 (4 PM in Japan/ 11 AM PT)

Saitama Super Arena, Japan

FEG Inc.

FIELDS CORPORATION

5pb.Inc. / Unilever Japan

Saitama Super Arena

Toyko, Japan (Friday, Dec. 17th) – Producers of the "FieLDS Dynamite!! - The Power of Courage -" announce four more fight cards for the New Year's show. Kyotaro vs. Gegard Mousasi, Hideo Tokoro vs. Kazuhisa Watanabe, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Jason High, Minowaman vs. Hiroshi Izumi.
Kyotaro: I'm going to win! Win back my honor!

Kyotaro stood toe-to-toe to Sem Schilt in the K-1 WGP Final and now he'll be facing DREAM light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi. Apparently he didn't suffer much damage from the Schilt fight and went right in to practice a few days later. Kyotaro said, "I saw Mousasi KO Musashi 2 years ago and now I want to prove that K-1 fighters are stronger." Mousasi replied, "Kyotaro is young and strong, but I'll come right for him and you can expect an exciting fight."  Kyotaro knows that Mousasi won't be an easy opponent. "Even though it's K-1 rules, I'll have to go all out or I'll lose."

Watanabe: "I'll make Tokoro my beyatch!"

K-1 Max's Kazuhisa Watanabe will fight Tokoro on DREAM turf. Watanabe says, "I may be fighting an MMA fighter, but the one with the power will win and I have the power to roll him up into a little ball." He continued, "I haven't done any training for MMA. All I need is two weeks and I'll be ready."
Also on the card are "Mach" Sakurai who is training in Seattle at the moment who will be taking on Jason High while Minowaman takes on Hiroshi Izumi in a DREAM vs. SRC battle. This bring the current count up to 10 fights. FEG's Sadaharu Tanikawa predicts the total may go up to 14 or 15 fights. And who will fight Satoshi Ishii? Will there be a heavyweight DREAM title match? With less than two weeks left there's no telling what exciting announcements will be coming up!!




STRIKEFORCE FIGHTER JOSH THOMSON TO FACE TOP-RANKED RIVAL TATSUYA KAWAJIRI AT ‘DYNAMITE!!’ ON DEC. 31 IN JAPAN

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Dec. 20, 2010) – Josh Thomson will be working on New Year’s Eve.

The exciting former STRIKEFORCE lightweight world champion will meet perennial 155-pound contender and Japanese superstar Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri in a fantastic matchup with world title implications on DREAM’s annual year-end “Dynamite!!” card on Dec. 31 in Japan.



Thomson (18-3, 1 NC), of San Jose, Calif., has won two in a row and 10 of his last 11 starts. A victory keeps alive his chances of facing current STRIKEFORCE lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez for a third time. Kawajiri (26-6-2), of Inashiki, Ibaraki, Japan, has been victorious in four of his last five starts.

In his last fight, the 5-foot-10, 32-year-old Thomson recorded a hard-fought, three-round decision over Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante on Oct. 9, 2010. (Thomson admitted the fight was closer than the judge's scorecards and criticized the judging openly after the fight; JZ stated he should have won.  See our earlier story)

Since March 2006, the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) team member has lost only to Melendez, and that came in a Dec. 19, 2009 rematch in San Jose that was later nominated for Fight of the Year. It was Thomson’s first fight in 15 months. Thomson outpointed Melendez in their initial encounter on June 27, 2008.



“I've wanted this fight forever,’’ said Thomson, who submitted (kneebar) Daisuke Sugie in his debut in the "Land of the Rising Sun" in July 2005. “He’s somebody that excites me.’’

A talented fighter known for strong wrestling and vicious ground and pound, the popular Kawajiri has been a staple in the Top 10 rankings. The 5-foot-7, 32-year-old had won four consecutive fights until suffering a devastating loss via submission (Achilles lock) to DREAM champion Shinya Aoki in his last outing on July 10.

Kawajiri, who upended Cavalcante on points in May 2009, dropped a decision to Melendez in Japan on Dec. 31, 2007.



The matchup between Thomson and Kawajiri is yet another product of STRIKEFORCE’s and DREAM’s cooperation to exchange fighters in order to produce the most competitive bouts possible between the world’s top mixed martial artists.

FEG announced Fight Card for the New Year's Eve, FieLDS Dynamite!! will be held at the Saitama Super Arena.

5 cards for Dynamite Have Been Announced!

Marius Zaromskis vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, [ DREAM / K-1 MIX Special Rules ] Shinya Aoki vs Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima, [ DREAM Light Weight One Match ] Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Josh Thomson, [ DREAM Feather Weight One Match] Kazuyuki Miyata vs Caol Uno, [ K-1 MAX Light Weight One Match ] Tetsuya Yamato vs. Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura has been announced!

Fields Dynamite!! : Additional Fight Card

Date: Friday, December 31, 2010 / Gate Open: 14:00 Start: 16:00
Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Japan


[ DREAM Welter Weight Title Match]
Marius Zaromskis (Champion / Lithuania / London Shoot Fighters)
VS
Kazushi Sakuraba (Challenger / Japan / Laughter7)
[ DREAM / K-1 MIX Special Rules ]

Shinya Aoki (Japan / Paraestra Tokyo)
VS
Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima (Japan / Sakigake Juku)
[ DREAM Light Weight One Match ]

Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan / T-BLOOD)
VS
Josh Thomson (USA／American Kickboxing Academy)
[ DREAM Feather Weight One Match]

Kazuyuki Miyata (Japan / BRAVE)
VS
Caol Uno (Japan / Freelance)
[ K-1 MAX Light Weight One Match ]

Tetsuya Yamato (Japan / Yamato Gym)
VS
Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura (Japan / STGY)