Jason Miller

Quick Hits: Cro Cop Hospitalized, Mayhem-Jacare III Proposed for DREAM.10 & More

Here are your quick hits for the afternoon of June 19, 2009.

— Just days after leaving the UFC in favor of a new three-fight deal with Japanese-based DREAM, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has reportedly been hospitalized due to a possible case of of Salmonella according to Croatian news outlets. The former PRIDE Fighting Championships standout competed just one week ago at UFC 99, defeating Cage Rage product Mustapha al Turk via first-round TKO. [MMA Mania]

— DREAM officials have reportedly offered Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza a third bout between each other for the vacant DREAM middleweight title at DREAM.10 on July 20 in Japan. Miller revealed his intention to accept the bout earlier this week, but published reports quote Souza as saying that he has no interest in yet another meeting between the two. [MMA Weekly]

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Quick Hits: Souza-Miller Official for DREAM.9, UFC 2009 Undisputed Demo Released & More

Here are your quick hits for the afternoon of April 23, 2009.

— Fighting and Entertainment Group announced today a previously rumored middleweight title rematch between colorful veteran Jason “Mayhem” Miller and skilled grappler Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza for DREAM.9, which will take place on May 26 at the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan. The two originally met at DREAM.4 in June of last year, where Souza won a unanimous decision over Miller in the quarterfinals of the promotion’s inaugural middleweight tourney. [DREAM]

— The official demo for UFC 2009 Undisputed was released today. From the UFC’s official website: “Want to re-live Shogun Rua’s stirring UFC 97 win over Chuck Liddell or turn the tables and lead “The Iceman” to victory? Now’s your chance, as the long-awaited demo of UFC 2009 Undisputed is now available for immediate download on XBox Live and coming later today to the Playstation store.” [UFC.com]

— Continuing to expand internationally, the UFC could reportedly next find itself in the land down under. The organization is said to be interested in potentially holding a February 2010 event at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. The arena, which holds up to 21,000 spectators, has reportedly been contacted about the possibility. [Fighters Only Magazine]

“Jacare” vs. “Mayhem” Possible for DREAM.9

A rematch between former DREAM middleweight grand prix tournament competitors Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Jason “Mayhem” Miller is reportedly possible for DREAM.9, which is currently slated to take place at the Yokohama Arena in Japan on May 26.

The news comes from a report by Tatame.com. Souza and Miller originally fought in the second round of DREAM’s inaugural middleweight grand prix, where Souza earned a decision over the colorful Miller.

A second fight between the two next month would apparently be for the now vacant DREAM middleweight title as champion Gegard Mousasi has opted to forego his belt in order to move up to the light heavyweight division.

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Bully Beatdown: The Roommate From Hell

In the second episode of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown”, Vince’s current and former roommates appeal to Jason “Mayhem” Miller to help give this abusive bully a taste of his own medicine, former professional football player turned mixed martial artist Michael Westbrook.

 

 

 

“Bully Beatdown” Premieres Tonight on MTV

“Bully Beatdown”, MTV’s newest reality show, will premiere tonight on the network at 9:30 PM ET. The show features victims of bullying coming forward to host Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who puts the aforementioned bullies up against professional fighters such as Jake Shields and Thomas Denny in order to potentially teach them a lesson. Some preview clips from the show are here.

 

Japanese Notebook: DREAM Releases 2009 Schedule

DREAM parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group today revealed the promotion’s schedule for the new year, with DREAM’s first show being held on March 8 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan and featuring the opening rounds of the organization’s inaugural featherweight and welterweight grand prix tournaments.

In total, DREAM will put on seven total shows in ‘09. Solidified dates for shows include April 5 at Nippon Gaishi Hall and December 31 at the Saitama Super Arena for the annual year-end K-1 Dynamite show. DREAM officials are also planning to hold shows in May, July, September, and October.

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Aoki, Manhoef Advance to Grand Prix Finals

Those who predicted an easy victory for Melvin Manhoef over Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba in the main event of DREAM’s latest effort Saturday night in Japan saw their thoughts become reality as Manhoef quickly smashed Sakuraba en route to an early first-round stoppage to move on to the finals of the organization’s inaugural middleweight grand prix.

The 14,037 in attendance at the Yokohama Arena saw Manhoef knock down Sakuraba with a right hand after stunning him with a head kick in the bout’s opening moments. Manhoef pounced on Sakuraba, who despite being able to pull guard, was unable to stop much of the punishment Manhoef was dishing out. Manhoef eventually transitioned to side control where he landed a number of unanswered hammer fists that forced the referee to jump in and save the longtime veteran.

“Sakuraba has been my hero, and he still is my hero. I’m sorry I had to beat him up for you,” Manhoef told the crowd after the fight. “I was prepared for 15 minutes, so it was my plan to start relaxed. But he wanted the takedown, and when he moved his head I caught him with a punch and then I kicked him. I knew when he went down, and we had practiced that, if he was in the ropes of the referee would stop and he could rest, that’s not what I wanted so I pulled him out from the ropes then punched again.”

In the night’s opening bout, grappling wizard Shinya Aoki submitting former Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata with a modified gogoplata from the mount position, a technique likely never seen before in a professional bout.

Aoki was able to sweep Nagata to the canvas early on in the bout but Nagata’s wrestling skills quickly allowed him to stand back up. Aoki then switched to a body lock and used surprising strength to muscle Nagata to the ground, where he quickly moved to mount after a scramble. After landing a couple of punches, Aoki attempted a failed guillotine before pulling off the gogoplata seemingly out of nowhere.

With the win, Aoki moves on to the finals of the promotion’s first-ever lightweight tournament where he will face former UFC contender Caol Uno. Philadelphia Fight Factory product Eddie Alvarez will take on tough wrestler Tatsuya Kawajiri in the other semi-final bout on July 21st in Japan.

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DREAM.4 Preview

Japan’s DREAM.4 takes place this Sunday, June 15 and is headlined by the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix. The event will be broadcast live tomorrow on HDNet at 4am ET.

Middleweight Grand Prix

There are four fights in round two with the winners moving on to DREAM.6 where a champion will be crowned.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs Melvin Manhoef

Another Sakuraba fight, another opponent who could kill him in the ring. At 39, can Sakuraba stand in there and take another savage beating? Manhoef is one of the most intense strikers at 185 and you can guarantee he’ll get his shots in on Saku. But we know Melvin has his limitations on the ground, Sakuaraba’s bread and butter. I think there’s one think we can count on in this fight; it won’t be a decision. Before 15 minutes is up, either Sakuraba will get KO’ed or he’ll submit Manhoef.

Prediction: Melvin Manhoef

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DREAM MW Grand Prix Second Round Set

DREAM officials late last night announced the quarterfinal matchups for the organization’s inaugural middleweight grand prix tournament, of which the second-round will take place on June 15th at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba will go up against hard-hitting Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef in the night’s most high-profile tournament matchup. Sakuraba scored a first round submission of Karate practitioner Andrews Nakahara to move on.

Manhoef will be replacing longtime veteran Kiyoshi Tamura, who was forced to pull out of the tourney after suffering a broken finger in his last fight. Manhoef stopped Dae Won Kim with strikes in a tournament reserve bout earlier this month.

Additional second-round matchups announced include Gegard Mousasi vs. Dong Sik Yoon, Jason Miller vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Zelg Galesic vs. Taiei Kin in a rematch of their controversial K-1 Hero’s bout in October of last year.

Already previously announced for the event was a lightweight grand prix bout between tournament favorite Shinya Aoki and former Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata.

Alvarez, Uno Score Upsets at DREAM

Eddie Alvarez and Caol Uno each pulled off surprising upsets in the second-round of DREAM’s inaugural lightweight grand prix tournament late last night in Japan to solidify their respective spots in the finals later this summer.

The 21,789 that witnessed DREAM’s third effort this year inside the Saitama Super Arena also saw Uno, who fought as a late-entrant into the tourney, overcome a ring-rust filled first round to eventually submit top-ranked Mitsuhiro Ishida with a rear naked choke in the second round.

The first minute of the fight had both fighters content to paw away with short jabs while measuring the distance between one another. Uno picked up the action in the form of leg kicks while Ishida attempted to counter Uno’s kicks with lefts. An errant kick to the groin by Ishida forced Uno to take some time to recover, but the veteran quickly got his bearings back and knocked Ishida down with a crisp right, opening a cut on the bridge of his nose that forced the ringside doctor to stop the clock for a quick check.

Ishida scored a single-leg takedown with about a minute left in the first stanza but Uno was able to reverse position and control his opponent from top position during the closing moments, potentially earning back the round in his favor. After another feeling-out period started the second round, a scramble on the ground saw Uno quickly take Ishida’s back and sink-in the fight-ending choke from behind.

“I know Ishida was eager to fight me,” Uno said after the fight, “He was aggressive and was obviously confident, but I’m the one going home with the win. I’m very happy to be advancing in the tournament.”

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