Comments on: DREAM 11 at Yokohama Arena

By: Ultimo Santa

Ultimo Santa — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:08:44 +0000

Akoi got kicked in the nuts, dropped his hands to hold his junk, and THEN got kicked in the fact a couple times.

The ref made the right call to jump in. I don’t see how this was Dream “protecting” him.

I’m not saying anything about Akoi’s ability to take a punch because that’s a stupid argument that gets made ad nauseum about every single fighter that’s ever been KOed – always by a bunchy of keyboard warriors who are barely athletic enough to lift an XBOX controller. (I read a post every other day about how GSP has a glass jaw…this type of crap seriously has to stop)

But Akoi and Hansen had a competitive fight, Akoi DID take some big shots, and he won – fair and square – in dramatic fashion. End of story.

By: Kalle

Kalle — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:57:15 +0000

Ivan, I looked at the upkicks in slowmotion. In the original camera angle the ref blocks the view but there’s a hint of a foot in the groin area. The only person with a clear view was the ref and he only stepped in after two kicks to the head.

By: Ivan Trembow

Ivan Trembow — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:11:42 +0000

I have been a bit puzzled by two things in the reaction to this event online:

-Apparently, Aoki was somehow protected and it was somehow a crime for him to get time to recover after getting kicked in the groin. Really? The instant replays were from a reverse camera angle from which you couldn’t actually see the foot hit the groin, but if you go back and look at the original camera angle as it happened live, it’s clear as day that he was kicked in the groin. Are fighters not supposed to get a break to recover when they get kicked in the groin? The fact that Hansen kicked Aoki twice in the head after kicking him once in the groin doesn’t change the fact that Aoki was kicked in the groin.

-Also, the Fernandes vs. Takaya fight was apparently a Fight of the Year candidate. Really? I didn’t come away from the fight with that feeling at all. I thought it was a good fight, but a Fight of the Year candidate? No way.

On the whole, there was far more bad than good with this event. The “good” was the Aoki-Hansen fight and the Featherweight Grand Prix; and the “bad” was the embarrassing mismatches given to Sakuraba and Kawajiri, as well as the awful Minowa-Choi fight and the predictably one-sided Sokoudjou-Sapp fight (although at least that didn’t appear to be a badly-worked pro wrestling match with a pre-determined ending, which is more than I can say for Sapp’s previous fight in the Super Hulk tournament against Minowa).

I know that the Super Hulk crap is the key to their success in the ratings, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. The same could be said of EliteXC putting Kimbo Slice in fight after fight on major events, and I didn’t support that, either.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:04:45 +0000

I think KID’s time as a top level fighter is just gone. I loved him to death in the past, and the fight with Sudo was one of the most anticipated fights for me in the past few years, that doesn’t mean I have to see a bright future for him now.

KID, realistically, is not a top 10 fighter at 145. He has a past that is littered against great competition and gimme fights and has pulled off some solid wins, but we are talking two years ago. Yahya has gone 3-0 since, Bibiano 6-0.

KID has an ego and a ton of hype behind him, which can weigh him down.

By: Kalle

Kalle — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:41:11 +0000

As a longtime Hansen fan the title fight was a disgrace. Good on Aoki for pulling out the last second victory, he earned that, but the blatantly preferential treatment he got from the referee was just disgusting. Is there any kind of official explenation on why they allowed him to take a break and rest after being hurt from those upkicks?

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:43:56 +0000

We’re so used to him losing nobody cares anymore.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:43:04 +0000

Sapp isn’t worth making fun of at this point. He does what you expect him to do.

I haven’t watched any of this show yet, is it as depressing to watch as the last Sengoku in the empty backroom arena?

By: dangerousdan

dangerousdan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:57:40 +0000

19 posts so far and no slam on Sapp. . . . odd

By: David M

David M — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:13:50 +0000

I’m not sure if I will never watch Dream again and I don’t think Aoki should even be ranked. There was no kick to the groin; that was appalling. I hate Japanese mma.

By: Zack

Zack — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:47:37 +0000

Who hasn’t been “exposed” recently? WEC’s golden boys haven’t looked great this year. Doesn’t mean they aren’t top notch still in their weight classes. Kid lost an extremely close decision to someone who is going to be a top guy for the next handful of years.