Dream 10 Preview

Dream 10 is scheduled for July 20th in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Have your DVR's set, as it will be broadcast in the wee hours of the morning on HDNet. The event will feature the finals of the 8 man welterweight grand prix. The odds on favorite in Japanese superstar Hayoto "Mach" Sakarai, who defeated Shinya Aoki in the first round.

The match-up of Shinya Aoki (20-4) v. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (20-2) is a grappling fans dream. Each has pulled off remarkable submissions in their careers, dislocating some elbows along the way. TUF 7 alum Jesse Taylor (11-3) will look to build on his five fight win streak outside the UFC against judoka Don Sik Yoon.

Here is how it looks right now:

Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor Ribeiro
Andre "Dida" Amade vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Paulo Filho vs. Melvin Manhoef
Jesse Taylor vs. Dong Sik Yoon
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Ikemoto Seich- WW Reserve Bout

Welterweight Grand Prix

Andre Galvao vs. Jason High- Bout 1
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Marius Zaromskis- Bout 2
Winner of Galvao/High vs. winner of Sakurai/Zaromskis


(Hayato Sakurai pictured)

WEC 36

On November 5th, 2008, WEC 36 will be held in Hollywood, Fla and broadcast live on Versus. Here are the announced matches on Versus.com.

Maincard
Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown (FW Title)
Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (MW Title)
Leonard Garcia vs. Jens Pulver
Nissen Osterneck vs. Jake Rosholt
Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough

Undercard
David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson
Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Brookins
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yayha
Steve Steinbeiss vs. TBA
Danny Castillo vs. TBA


*Urijah Faber pic found on photobucket.com

WEC 31 Results

Results WEC 31 - MMA Blaster

Urijah Faber defeats Jeff Curran - RD 2 Guillotine Choke
Jens Pulver defeats Cub Swanson - RD 1 Anaconda Choke
Paulo Filho defeats Chael Sonnen - RD 2 Armbar
Doug Marshal defeats Ariel Gandulla - RD 1 Armbar
Brian Bowles defeats Marcos Galvao - RD 2 TKO
Charlie Valencia defeats Ian McCall - RD 1 Choke
John Alessio defeats Todd Moore - UD
Brian Baker defeats Eric Schambari - SD
Ed "9MM" Ratcliff defeats Alex Karelexis - RD 2 TKO

Overall an exciting show. Faber was probably down until he wobbled Curran and secured the choke. Pulver dominated Swanson, looks like they will be squaring off for the FW title in a couple months.

Sonnen was dominating the fight until Filho he was able to get an armbar. Sonnen was screaming and yelling as the armbar was sunk, and the ref stopped the fight. If you do that, the ref will think you are in pain. Sonnen protested and insists he was saying "no" but his argument fell on deaf ears. The stoppage was not controversial.

I told everyone to watch out for the "9MM" Eric Ratcliff, he TKO'd former TUF contestant Alex Karelexis.


Get more pictures like this from SHERDOG.COM
Alessio v. Moore pic from Sherdog

WEC 31 Preview

WEC Preview by the MMA Blaster

I was actually a little sad that there was no more Ultimate Fighter until next April. That is, until I saw the card for WEC 31. The first three bouts could just as easily be on a UFC ppv, and there are an amazing seven undefeated fighters on this card. While many are prospects, it is always nice to get a glimpse at the start of something big. Here is the fight card for Wednesday's action:

Urijah Faber (19-1) v. Jeff Curran (28-8) - FW Belt
Cub Swanson (11-1) v. Jens Pulver (21-8)
Paulo Filho (15-0) v. Chael Sonnen (19-8) - MW Belt
Doug Marshal (6-2) v. Ariel Gandulla (4-0-1) - LHW Belt
Brian Bowles (3-0) v. Marcos Galvao (6-1)
Charlie Valencia (8-3) v. Ian McCall (6-0)
John Alessio (20-10) v. Todd Moore (9-0)
Brian Baker (5-0) v. Eric Schambari (7-0)
Alex Karelexis (9-2) v. Eric "8MM" Ratcliff (3-0)

Faber v. Curran- Faber has been the face of the WEC since Zuffa acquired the organization and this is his biggest fight to date. Faber has been building popularity in recent years, successfully defending his featherweight title three times in 2007. Curran is a well experienced veteren (10 years) who has fought much larger and experienced opponents in his day.

Curran has notable wins over Wagnney Fabiano (9-1), Krazy Horse Bennett (19-14), Jason Dent (15-9) and Rafael Assuncao (11-1). Faber is wins over Chance Farrar (5-1), Dominic Cruz (9-1), Joe Pearson (20-9) and Naoya Uematsu (14-7).

Swanson v. Pulver- Pulver is trying to bounce back from losses to Joe Lauzon and BJ Penn and establish him in the 145 pound class. Swanson is looking to push his way into title contention. I'm guessing the winner of this bout gets an immediate FW title shot.

Most fans seem to forget that Pulver has an extensive career with wins over Joe Stevenson (26-7), Caol Uno (22-14), Stephen Palling (11-7), Cole Escovedo (11-4), BJ Penn (11-4), Dennis Hallman (38-12) and Joe Jordan (38-12). Swanson's last two wins in the WEC came over Tommy Lee (20-6) and Micah Miller (8-1).

Filho v. Sonnen- Filho is the legit number 2 middleweight in the world. Despite his undefeated record, he has chose to stay in the WEC. He is friends with Anderson Silva and has stated that he won't fight him unless the conditions are right. I hope to see Filho use all his skills to defeat Sonnen. Then Silva v. Filho, maybe I am dreaming.

*Watch for Ed "8mm" Ratcliff on the undercard, who will use his style of Tae Kwon Do and Karate.



Photo of Urijah Faber found on Photobucket, used incidentally to story