DREAM 12 Preview & Predictions

For the first time in DREAM’s 20-month history, a six-sided cage will be used when the action commences on October 25th from the Osaka-Jo-Hall in Osaka, Japan.

Many current and former champions will be featured, including a pair of former WEC title-holders. Chase Beebe, the former WEC Bantamweight king, will trade leather with Yoshiro Maeda, and former WEC Middleweight champ Paulo Filho meets Dong Sik Yoon in a 185-pound contest.

Newly crowned Bellator FC Lightweight Top-Dog Eddie Alvarez will try and continue his recent success against talented 154-pound DEEP dictator Katsunori Kikuno.

Cage Force, one of the only Japanese promotions to feature a cage, enters their Lightweight king, Kuniyoshi Hironaka into the DREAM 12 card opposite of Won Sik Park.

Alistair Overeem, the popular Strikeforce Heavyweight champ, is also rumored to be participating on the loaded champion-heavy card.

Be sure to look to ProFighting-fans.com for the official DREAM 12 results after the fights are complete!

Yoshiro Maeda vs. Chase Beebe

Former WEC Bantamweight Champion Chase Beebe (12-5) will face 27 year-old Japanese veteran, Yoshiro Maeda (25-7-2) in a featherweight bout on October 25 at DREAM 12. Beebe is trying to shake his current four-fight winless streak that includes a recent UWC Bantamweight Title Bout, first ruled against Beebe then later ruled a “No Contest.” Maeda won his most recent bout after his opponent struck him with an illegal groin shot on an August DEEP card.

Prior to his recent DQ victory in August, Maeda was eliminated by Hiroyuki Takaya from the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix 2nd Round after taking a decision from Micah Miller in the Opening Round. He also had a three-fight stint with the Zuffa-owned WEC from February 2008 through November of the same year. In his WEC debut, Maeda stopped Charlie Valencia with a kick to the body giving him the TKO victory. His impressive debut thrust him into a Bantamweight Title Bout, which he lost, against Miguel Torres at WEC 34 in Sacramento, and after getting choked out by Rani Yahya at WEC 36 five months later, WEC officials sent him back to Japan.

Beebe, 24, worked his way through the ranks fighting in organizations such as XFO, Iowa Challenge, and King of the Cage, to name three. After winning 10 of 11 minor league bouts, the Chicago, Illinois based fighter was signed to a contract with the UFC’s brother promotion, the WEC. He immediately produced results in the WEC, winning the vacant Bantamweight Title at WEC 26 and defending it at WEC 30 against Rani Yahya. Unlucky for Beebe, Miguel Torres came along and submitted him at WEC 32 taking his title with him. After another WEC loss earned him his pink slip, Beebe was chosen to participate in the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix, where he lost in the Opening Round to American, Joe Warren. In September, “The Rage” accepted a UWC Bantamweight Title Bout opposite Mike Easton, where he dominated Easton for three of the five rounds, however lost the judge’s decision; the lopsided bout decision has since been ruled a “No Contest” until further investigation has been completed.

PREDICTION: Beebe over Maeda via decision

Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Won Sik Park

Thirty-three year old Cage Force Lightweight Champion Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6) will welcome DREAM rookie Won Sik Park (7-1-1) into the organization on October 25th in his most high profile bout of his young career. Hironaka, who already has appeared in American promotions, Rumble on the Rock, Superbrawl, and UFC, has won three straight bouts including his most recent scrap where he earned the GCM Lightweight Crown. “Parky” comes into DREAM 12 with an equally impressive four fight win streak, submitting or knocking out his last three opponents, all in the DEEP promotion.

Hironaka used his victories over ex-UFC bad-boy Nick Diaz, ex-IFL fighter Ryan Schultz, and ex-Elite XC bruiser Renato Verissimo, to gain entrance into the world’s largest MMA organization. While in the UFC from October 2006 through April 2008, Hironaka was handed three of his six career defeats. At UFC 64, his debut, Hironaka was on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Jon Fitch, only to turn the tables on Forrest Petz six months later at UFC Fight Night 9. However, after TKO losses by Thiago Alves and Jonathan Goulet, Hironaka was soon back fighting in Japan. Back in more comfortable surroundings, the eight-year vet has won four of his last five bouts, notching victories in DREAM, ZST, and GCM organizations.

Park, who hails from South Korea, a goldmine for MMA talent, has appeared in four different promotions in three years of professional fighting. After losing in his debut, “Parky” bounced back and posted victories for the Super Sambo Festival, MARS, M-1 Challenge and most recently DEEP organizations. No matter where he has battled, Park has proven to be a formidable opponent, finishing six of his opponents and only taken to a decision twice in his promising career

PREDICTION – Hironaka over Park via decision

Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno

After a successful run in Bellator FC that saw him earn the Lightweight Championship, Philadelphia based boxing specialist, Eddie Alvarez (18-2) returns to DREAM to take on DEEP Lightweight Kingpin, Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1). Alvarez, a winner in eight of his past nine, produced the BFC Lightweight Belt with submission victories over Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds, and Toby Imada. Kikuno has been on an impressive run as well, winning nine consecutive, including a DREAM 10 TKO of Andre Amado in July.

As one of the most popular fighters outside of the UFC, Eddie Alvarez built his resume fighting under a variety of different banners. Ring of Combat, Reality Combat, Euphoria, MFC, MARS, Bodog, Sho XC, DREAM, K-1 and Bellator have all employed the 25 year-old Fight Factory product. Tasting his first sip of success, Alvarez defeated UFC vet Aaron Riley in December 2006 to capture the Bodog Welterweight Championship. He never was able to fulfill the multi-fight contract that Elite XC offered but did knock out Ross Ebanez at a ShoXC fight in early 2008 before shipping out to Japan and DREAM. He hammered through three tough opponents in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix, however was pulled after his semi-final win over Tatsuya Kawajiri due to an eye injury. After his exclusive Bellator FC contract ran out at the conclusion of the Lightweight Tournament this summer, he resigned with DREAM.

Kikuno, who trains at Alliance-Square, one of the best training camps in Japan, has been actively participating in MMA since December 2005. He grew up with the DEEP promotion, fighting all but two of his fights with the successful Japanese promotion. In his third fight at DEEP 23 in February 2006, Kikuno suffered his one and only defeat, a unanimous decision loss to Yukinari Tamura. Since that loss, he has produced a 10-0-1 record that has seen the Judo expert claim the DEEP Lightweight Crown. His skills match up well with Alvarez, evidence of his seven TKO victories which include three in his last three bouts. Kikuno has also proven to be extremely hard to finish, as he has never been in 14 career bouts.

PREDICTION – Alvarez over Kikuno via decision

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Paulo Filho vs. Dong Sik Yoon

Once beaten former WEC Middleweight Champ Paulo Filho (18-1) will go head-to-head with Dong Sik Yoon (4-7), one of the streakiest fighters in all of MMA. Yoon has dropped three straight contests, all of which took place inside of the DREAM ring. “Ely” was in action one month ago, defeating Alex Schoenauer at the Bitetti Combat 3 event, an event that featured many of Brazil’s top fighters.

A member of Team Link, located in Ludlow, Massachusetts, Paulo Filho has been one of the most efficient mixed martial artists in history. Working with organizations such as DEEP, Pancrase, PRIDE, Gladiator FC, PRIDE, WEC and now DREAM, Filho has stayed the course by completing the only task that matters in this sport, he wins. Other than a perplexing performance at WEC 36 in November 2008, where Filho first missed weight then looked disoriented and confused inside of the cage against Chael Sonnen (Unanimous Decision loss), he has been perfect. The 31 year-old BJJ expert productively railed through his first 16 opponents before losing to Sonnen. Since he wasn’t asked to join others when the WEC Middleweight Division was dissolved into the UFC, the former WEC champ has looked overseas for answers. He submitted striker, Melvin Manhoef in less than 3:00 at DREAM 10, and then outpointed Schoenauer while fighting at Light Heavyweight in his two most recent bouts.

Dong Sik Yoon, a well-known judoka before transitioning into the world of MMA, has fought tough competition since making his debut over four years ago. Although his record isn’t sparkling, Yoon has only been part of exclusive Japanese organizations such as PRIDE, K-1 Hero’s, and DREAM. Losing to Kazushi Sakuraba, Makoto Takimoto, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Murilo Bustamante while in PRIDE, Yoon had better luck when fighting for the K-1 organization. He reeled off four straight victories against the likes of Melvin Manhoef, Jean Silva, Zelg Galesic and Shungo Oyama, three of which were via armbar submissions. However, he is now looking to snap another lengthy losing streak after falling to Gegard Mousasi, Andrews Nakahara, and TUF 7 personality Jesse Taylor.

PREDICTION – Filho over Yoon via submission

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Zelg Galesic

Kazushi Sakuraba (25-12-1) will replace Melvin Manhoef against Zelg Galesic (9-4) in what should be a “knock‘em-out drag‘em-out” type of fight. Sakuraba submitted boxer Rubin Williams earlier this month at DREAM 11, snapping a two-fight losing streak. Galesic lost to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza on September 23 in the middleweight grand prix finals.

Sakuraba, a winner at UFC Ultimate Japan, was a regular on PRIDE cards from February 1998 until December 2005 spanning twenty-seven fights overall. His only submission loss came in his professional debut to Kimo Leopaldo in 1996. After PRIDE was bought out by the UFC, “The Gracie Hunter” transitioned over to K-1 Hero’s, going 4-1 with 1 no contest over the next year-and-a-half. He debuted with DREAM in April 2008 at DREAM 2 by submitting Andrews Nakahara. Since his debut win he has posted a 1-1 record, losing to Melvin Manhoef and defeating Williams in his latest bout. Known as “The Gracie Hunter” for obvious reasons, Sakuraba also owns notable victories against the likes of: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Ken Shamrock, and Kevin Randleman.

Galesic, a Team Trojan fighter, was victorious in six out of his first seven bouts, including becoming the British Cage Rage Middleweight Champion. Upon graduating into the major leagues of MMA, Galesic dropped two straight; first a PRIDE 34 submission loss to Makoto Takimoto and then at K-1 Hero’s Tournament Final by Dong Sik Yoon. Since migrating to DREAM, Galesic has won two of his three promotional bouts. He defeated Magomed Sultanakhmedov in the Opening Round of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix, Taiei Kin in the Semifinals, but lost to “Jacare” in the finals last September.

PREDICTION – Galesic over Sakuraba via decision

Marius Zaromskis vs. Myeon Ho Bae

DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis (12-3) will fight for the first time since winning his gold; however his DREAM 12 fight against Korean Myeon Ho Bae (8-4) will not be a title defense. Zaromskis won his title with a head kick knockout against Jason High at the DREAM 10 Welterweight Grand Prix Final. Myeon Ho Bae, a DREAM rookie, fought and won in June in his most recent action.

“Whitemare,” a 29 year-old London Shootfighters member, has methodically worked his way up the MMA ladder. Over nine years ago, Zaromskis began fighting in the Knight of the Ring promotion in his homeland of Lithuania. He didn’t arrive on any major promoters’ radar until stepping inside the cage for the British-based Cage Rage organization in May 2006. He successfully made a name for himself, grinding out a 5-2 record for the organization until moving on two years later in May 2008. Che Mills was a thorn in his side, defeating the accomplished kickboxer twice inside the Cage Rage battlefield. Since migrating to Japan (DREAM), Zaromskis showed his significant development by winning the DREAM WW GP. He outscored Seichi Ikemoto at DREAM 8, and then stopped both Hayato Sakurai and Jason High in a one night semifinal/final bout event. He has won four consecutive bouts and eight of his last nine overall. Zaromskis has earned the moniker of a finisher honestly, stopping 10 opponents out of 12 victories.

Korean Myeon Ho Bae came over to DREAM by way of the MARS promotion with a couple of stops in between. Seven of his first eight career bouts were with the highly entertaining MARS organization (a solid organization that features inexperienced Japanese fighters). He had trouble early in his career, losing three of his first four bouts, but rebounded by winning six straight including four fights in MARS, a fight for the Korean KHAN promotion, and a win in the HD Net televised M-1 Challenge organization. In April, while fighting on the South Korean team for M-1, Bae was outpointed by the former Affliction fighter, Fabio Nascimento for his first loss in 2½ years. He recently bounced back from his fourth career loss with a unanimous decision victory over Yusaku Tsukumo at DEEP 42 in June. Of his eight wins, only three have been stoppages.

PREDICTION – Zaromskis over Myeon Ho Bae via TKO

Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Two successful Japanese professional wrestlers will take it to a cage and battle MMA style as “Kendo Kashin,” Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1-4-1), meets Katsuyori Shibata (3-6-1) at DREAM 12 in a light-heavyweight clash. Ishizawa last fought an MMA bout in December 2006, losing to Taiei Kin via head kick knockout at K-1 Premium. Shibata has been a little more active with MMA, winning his most recent bout in April at DREAM 8 against Minowaman.

“Kendo Kashin,” 41, made his first venture into MMA in August 2000 with a pair of PRIDE bouts versus Ryan Gracie. He split the two bouts; after getting knocked out the first time around, he only won the second when Gracie retired due to injury. He fought Shingo Koyasu to a draw in an Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye bout in December 2001 then decided it was enough for MMA with a 1-1-1 record. However, in 2006 he gave another crack at MMA appearing in three K-1 Hero’s bouts. He was stopped in succession by current UFC fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama, former UFC stalwart Carlos Newton, and Taiei Kin to bring his fight record to a less than impressive 1-4-1. His wrestling resume includes a 2005 stint in the American Ring of Honor promotion and in 2007 fought Kurt Angle for the IWGP belt.

Katsuyori Shibata has appeared in Jungle Fight, K-1 Hero’s, DREAM and DEEP fight promotions throughout his five plus years in the industry. He began his career with an impressive 2-0 start and then fell on rough times; going 0-6-1 over his next seven fights. He did face some top-level talent, losing to Ralek Gracie, Sakuraba, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, and Yoshihiro Akiyama during his winless streak. His bouts with Miller and Akiyama came inside the DREAM ring, as did his most recent bout, a win at DREAM 8 over Minowaman. He dominated Minowaman for two five-minute rounds before ultimately winning a unanimous decision. In his six losses, Shibata has been finished all six times.

PREDICTION – “Kendo Kashin” over Shibata via TKO

Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Tomoya Miyashita

ZST featherweight champion Keisuke Fujiwara (7-1-3) and DEEP product Tomoya Miyashita (12-5-6) will debut at DREAM 12 in a bout that was announced just days before the event goes down. Fujiwara comes in after fighting Wataru Inatsu to a draw less than a month ago at ZST – Swat 21. Miyashita fought most recently in late June at DEEP 42, submitting Hiryu Okamoto with a tight guillotine choke.

A product of the Akimoto Dojo Jungle Junction, Fujiwara will fight outside of the ZST organization for the first time in eleven career starts. After beginning with a mediocre 3-1-2 record, Fujiwara caught fire over the course of the last two years. At ZST 15 in November 2007, he won the first of four straight stoppages by slapping a guillotine choke on Tokuaki Ninomiya at the 1:04 mark of the 1st round. His winning streak was snapped in his most recent bout, due mostly to ZST having no decision victories, after dominating Inatsu for two five minute rounds.

Seven year veteran, Tomoya Miyashita has spread his services all throughout Japan, appearing for Cage Force, ZST, DEEP, and Kingdom of Grapple organizations. His career got off to a rocky start, winning only once in his first seven fights. He had a great year from November 2005 through the end of 2006 winning all six bouts in that span. The rest of his career up to this point has been a roller-coaster with highs and lows. Lately, his ride has taken him to the top, winning his last two and four of his last five overall.

PREDICTION – Miyashita over Fujiwara via submission

Alistair Overeem vs. James Thompson

Alistair Overeem (30-11) continues to pad his record by taking fights outside of America, this time squaring off against British tough-guy, James “The Colossus” Thompson (14-10) in heavyweight action at DREAM 12. Thompson has struggled, to say the least, losing four in a row and eight of his last ten. Overeem has looked impressive when in action, albeit against mid-level talent, winning five consecutive bouts with first round stoppages.

Alistair Overeem, widely considered the best heavyweight that is outside of the UFC (and Fedor, of course), has been fighting professionally since he was 19 years old. Beginning as a 205 pound fighter, “The Demolition Man” fought mostly in his native The Netherlands with organizations such as: It’s Showtime, 2H2H, and M-1 MFC. In 2002, Overeem began fighting in the regular PRIDE rotation going as far as making it to the 2005 middleweight (205-pound) grand prix semifinals, losing to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. His first American fight came in 2006, defeating Vitor Belfort with a unanimous decision at Strikeforce – Revenge. He won that company’s first Heavyweight title by submitting Paul Buentello in November 2007, however has not defended it since. He has also taken three fights for the DREAM organization, going 2-0 with 1 no contest over the last two years. His two most recent fights have taken place at Ultimate Glory, a mid-level Dutch promotion, where he easily stopped Gary Goodridge and Tony Sylvester, the latter just days ago.

PREDICTION – Overeem is a talented striker with enough ground game to hold his own there too. Thompson’s only hope is to hit that home run punch with his opening bell charge. Overeem is too much for the aging Thompson. Overeem over Thompson via TKO

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer