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DREAM 15 Results: DREAM 15 Fight Card Results & Recap

DREAM 15 took place on July 10, 2010 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and was broadcast in North America on HDNet. Be sure to check out the DREAM 15 predictions & preview before the event and our recap below from ProFighting-fans.com and for the full DREAM 15 results scroll down to the bottom of the page after the DREAM 15 fight results come in.

Karl Amoussou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

The Dream 15 opening bout featured a matchup between aggressive French striker Karl Amoussou and Japanese Judo expert Kazuhiro Nakamura. Although expectations were high for the debuting Amoussou and his fighting style, it didn’t exactly play out that way as Nakamura proved otherwise.

After neutralizing Amoussou on the feet, an area that he was supposed to dominate, Nakamura wisely took the fight to the canvas. From top position, he dominated the Dream rookie with his superior grappling skills. Amoussou tried to stay busy from his back, but didn’t show enough offense to matter allowing Nakamura to come out with a decisive unanimous decision victory.

Nakamura wins back-to-back fights after stints in PRIDE, UFC, and Sengoku came to an end. His Dream debut victory improves his overall record to 15-10. Amoussou loses for the first time in almost two years. He was coming in off of three straight wins and a draw; his record falls to 11-3-2 overall.

Daiki Hata vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida

Solid Japanese featherweight Mitsuhiro Ishida shook off an early flying knee and a late submission choke attempt by the flashy Daiki Hata on his way to dominating most of their fifteen-minute affair.

Hata initiated the action when he partially connected with an opening flying knee. Ishida defended, and subsequently took the action to the canvas where he methodically dismantled his younger opponent with his relentless ground-and-pound. He also put a scare into Hata when he almost converted on a tight armbar submission; however Hata used his high-level defense to scramble out of danger. Once again, Hata managed to get through Ishida’s defense and put him in danger with a guillotine choke attempt. The attempt eventually failed and the effort proved to be too little too late as Ishida cruised to a unanimous decision victory.

Ishida, an original Dream fighter, had his two-fight skid come to an end with his first victory in over a year. He improves his career mark to 19-6-1 and Dream record to 3-1. Hata loses back-to-back bouts for the first time since 2007. He is 11-7-3 throughout his six-year career and 1-2 with Dream.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Young Sam Jung

In his first Dream bout, the surging Michihiro Omigawa proved why he was such a heavy favorite by overwhelming South Korean, and Dream rookie, Young Sam Jung.

Omigawa was able to set the pace from the start, clubbing Jung from the stand-up position and dominating him from the ground. Before the action hit the ground however, Jung temporarily held an armbar submission, but was unable to convert. As soon as Omigawa escaped the submission, he jumped on top and into a mount position. From the mount, Omigawa transitioned to lock in a fight-ending guillotine submission 7:31 into the 1 st round.

Omigawa continues to gain momentum in his career with four straight victories and his seventh win in eight fights. His career record now stands at 11-8-1 and is 1-0 after his Dream debut. Young Sam Jung, who made his pro debut in October 2007, loses for the third time in as many fights; this was his first Dream bout.

Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Melvin Manhoef

Surprising in every state of the word is the only way to describe the middleweight contest between Tatsuya Mizuno and Melvin Manhoef. Manhoef came in as a huge favorite, mostly due to his striking advantage, however Mizuno turned the tables on his Dutch counterpart and had his hand risen when all was said and done.

One aspect that was expected was the length of this “striker vs. striker” battle; it was the manner of the finish that was the biggest surprise. Manhoef came out as usual showing his classic powerful strikes, but the tempo changed as soon as they hit the canvas. Mizuno put Manhoef in serious danger with his marginal submission skills. The threat was cancelled as Manhoef made it back to his feet where he looked to take control with his power. Little did he know, it would be Mizuno who would land the heavy bombs and send Manhoef crashing to the floor. Mizuno capitalized by jumping on the confused Manhoef and securing the kimura submission 7:38 into the 1 st round.

Mizuno, now 8-5 overall and 1-1 in Dream, has won his last three bouts. Manhoef falls for the second straight bout and third in his last four. He is 24-8-1 overall which includes a 2-3 mark in Dream action.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Jake O’Brien

In what turned into an ugly trip overseas for his first bout in Japan, Indiana-native “Irish” Jake O’Brien’s performance was even worse. He didn’t come into his light-heavyweight grand prix bout with former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi well-prepared, and it showed.

O’Brien’s offense consisted of lunging at Mousasi immediately as the opening bell sounded. He shot in for the double-leg takedown, and after getting it stuffed, switched to a single-leg attempt. That attempt was stalled as well, and in addition to his failed takedowns, O’Brien was careless and left his head for the taking. Take it is exactly what Mousasi did, choking out his American counterpart 31-seconds into the 1 st round.

Mousasi wins in his first bout since losing his Strikeforce light-heavyweight belt, and is victorious for the 16 th time in his last 17 bouts. He remains undefeated under the Dream banner at 6-0. O’Brien has his two-bout win streak stopped; he is 13-4 overall and 0-1 in Dream.

Gesias Cavalcante vs. Katsunori Kikuno

Fighting for the first time in well over a year, Brazilian grappling specialist Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante returned to Japan to fight former DEEP champ and Dream veteran Katsunori Kikuno. As expected, the fight turned out to be an action-packed one.

The back and forth action featured moments of brilliance for both fighters. Kikuno got the action started with some excellent strikes, and to the surprise of many, handled “JZ’s” submission attempts throughout the 1 st round. The 2 nd round, however, was dominated by Cavalcante as he quickly put Kikuno on the ground and maintained top position for most of the round. Kikuno was able to escape at the end of the round, but it was too late, as Cavalcante was awarded the split-decision victory.

Cavalcante wins for the first time in almost three years as he snaps a three-fight winless streak. The win marks his first for Dream (1-2, 1 NC) and improves his career mark to 15-3-1, 1 NC. Kikuno loses for the second time in his last three fights, and is 13-3-1 over the course of his career and 2-2 for Dream.

Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Shinya Aoki returned to his homeland while trying to prove that he does belong among the world’s top lightweight fighters. In his way was fellow countryman Tatsuya Kawajiri in the Dream 15 main event with Aoki’s lightweight belt up for grabs.

Almost seconds into their lightweight title fight, Shinya Aoki, one of Japan’s most popular MMA figures, got hold of one of Kawajiri’s legs. Kawajiri would not get away from Aoki without tapping out. Aoki maneuvered from one submission attempt to another until he finally locked in an Achilles lock 1:53 into the 1 st round for the fight-ender.

Aoki wins in his first bout since Gilbert Melendez dismantled him this April for the Strikeforce lightweight belt. This win is his fourth out of his last five bouts, moving his record to 24-5, 1 NC including 8-2, 1 NC for Dream. Kawajiri loses for the first time in his last five bouts dropping his overall mark to 26-6-2 and 5-2 for Dream.

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

DREAM 15 Results:

• Shinya Aoki (c) defeats Tatsuya Kawajiri via Submission (Achilles Lock) - Round 1 @ 1:53 - DREAM Lightweight Championship fight

• Tatsuya Mizuno defeats Melvin Manhoef via Submission (Kimura) - Round 1 @ 7:38 - DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix opening round

• Gegard Mousasi defeats Jake O'Brien via Submission (Guillotine Choke) - Round 1 @ 0:31 - DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix opening round

• Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante defeats Katsunori Kikuno by Split Decision

• Michihiro Omigawa defeats Young Sam Jung via Submission (Guillotine Choke) - Round 1 @ 7:31

• Mitsuhiro Ishida defeats Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata by Unanimous Decision

• Kazuhiro Nakamura defeats Karl Amoussou by Unanimous Decision