Note: fights subject to change

Dream.3 Mixed Martial Arts

As the second round of the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena there are a number of updates to the MMA matchups. After his first round injury in his match with JZ Gesias Calvancanti, the fight between Shinya Aoki and Katsuhiko Nagata will take place at DREAM.4 instead of DREAM.3.

DREAM officials have sent Caol Uno into the 2nd round against Mitsuhiro Ishida as the 8th seeded fighter. The lightweight matchup was suppose to take place at DREAM.2 but due to the injuries to Vitor Ribeiro and Caol Uno along with Gilbert Melendez's prior commitment to Strikeforce, Uno got a bye into the second round.

Nick Diaz was also scheduled to fight on the DREAM’s card but EliteXC president Gary Shaw pulled the fighter off the card because the contest was said to be too close to the June 14 EliteXC match between Diaz and Muhsin Corbbrey in Hawaii but the latest word is that he has agreed to fight in Japan versus former King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue. This fight wil not be a part of the LW Grand Prix as this fight will be a Welterweight Championship Contender bout. Also the continuation of the Middleweight Grand Prix will take place with Jason "Mayhem" Miller versus Katsuyori Shibata and a middleweight reserve match between Dae Won Kim versus Melvin Manhoef will take place.


Now that the fights are set read the online mixed martial arts betting reports for all DREAM.3 fights

Offical Fight Card

Lightweight Grand Prix bout: Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno
Lightweight Grand Prix bout: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Firmino
Lightweight Grand Prix bout: Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen
Middleweight Grand Prix bout: Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Middleweight Grand Prix Reserve bout: Dae Won Kim vs. Melvin Manhoef
Welterweight Championship Contender bout: Katsuya Inoue vs. Nick Diaz
Lightweight bout: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Bu-kyung Jung
Featherweight bout: Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Jason Miller is one of the best scrappy middleweights in the world and he will set out to prove that he deserves to be in the top ten as his makes his debut for DREAM. At 20 and 5 he has a great record but the knock on him is that he has never fought in a big organization and against big time fighters. Miller has great grappling skills as he combines Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. Mayhem trains at Team Quest in Temecula, California with Randy Couture, Quinton Rampage Jackson and Marc Laimon. His training and skills are great but does he have what it takes to beat Katsuyori Shibata? Shibata is a new fighter but at 2 and 3 he will be very overmatched skill wise versus Miler.

Despite the fact Shibata’s loses have come to Kazushi Sakuraba and Ralek Gracie he is still new to the MMA game. Miller will easily beat Shibata in this fight and look for a quick first round arm bar submission. As a online sports bettor lay a lot on this fight because Miller is heads and tales above Shibata in skill, grappling, striking, and experience.

Dae Won Kim vs.  Melvin Manhoef

Melvin Manhoef is a scary fighter. He has one of the best strikers in the world at the middleweight division. He was scheduled to fight Ralek Gracie but that fight has been called off and Dae Won Kim is Gracie’s replacement. Dae Won Kim is no slouch as he was the one who stopped Marcelo Garcia in his MMA debut. At 4 and 3 Kim’s loses have come but submission and we all know Manhoef is no submission fighter. This will be a striking battle and Manhoef is a beast when it comes to the standup. His lower legs kicks and striking are vicious and he will KO Dae Won Kim in this fight.

Melvin Manhoef is a Muay Thai kickboxer and his K1 kickboxing record is 34 and 4 with 25 knockouts. Dae Won Kim is no grappler and likes to strike and he does not have the grappling abilities to take Manhoef to the ground. Online mixed martial arts bettors might think Dae Won Kim have a punchers chance in this fight. Guess what he doesn’t. Bet a lot on Manhoef to with the fight.

Daisuke Nakamura vs.  Bu-kyung Jung

Daisuke Nakamura is a middle of the road fighter and when he has stepped up to top level fighters like Vitor Ribeiro, Hidehiko Hasegawa, Marcus Aurelio, Keita Nakamura, or Hikaru Sato he loses. He will be fighting a 0 and 2 fighter in Bu-kyung Jung.

However, Bu-kyung Jung first two fights in MMA has been against Mitsuhiro Ishida and Shinya Aoki. Both these loses came by decision losses. Bu-kyung Jung is a very game and strong fighter that will press the action against Nakamura.

The Korean fighter is much better than his record shows. The sports betting odds are not yet out but placing a bet on the 0 and 2 fighter is the best bet to make. Look for Bu-kyung Jung to win by decision.

Katsuya Inoue vs. Nick Diaz

Nick Diaz is a big name and he will be fighting who is a very good wrestler. Diaz had to quickly cut weight for this fight before he left for Japan and he will come into the fight as the bigger fighter. Diaz is a brown belt under Caser Gracie which means he is a black belt by most BJJ club standards. Nick Diaz has far superior grappling skills and once he takes the wrestler on his back it will be over.

However, Inoue is a heavy striker but he will be fighting a much bigger fighter and Diaz has deceptive striking abilities. He has fought some great strikers in the past like Mike Aina, Takanori Gomi, Josh Neer, Robbie Lawler, and Diego Sanchez. Katsuya Inoue has not fought any top level fighters and not any fighters outside of Asia which means he will not be used to Diaz's fighting style or the North American fight game. Betting wise Diaz is has too much skill and experience for Inoue.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs.  Luiz Firmino

Luiz Buscape Firmino already has a loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri at PRIDE - Bushido 8 and the Crusher is one of the best lightweight fighters in the world with a great base and wrestling background. He has incredible strength and power for his size and this power will pose a lot of problems for Buscape. In the lightweight division Kawajiri has probably the most power in the lightweight Grand Prix. At 21-4-2 Kawajiri has only lost to top ten lightweights like Gilbert Melendez, Takanori Gomi, and Vitor Ribeiro.

Despite his great wrestling background, Kawajiri has great striking ability as 10 of his MMA fights have been by knockout. Luiz Buscape does not have the power to hurt the Crusher and his grappling skills will not overpower Kawajiri’s power and striking. On the ground Buscape is a better grappler but Kawajiri is a legitimate top ten lightweight in the world and a front runner to the win the Grand Prix. Betting wise take Kawajiri to over power Luiz Firmino with superior wrestling and striking. Lay a lot of money on Kawajiri not only to win this fight but to win the whole tournament.

Eddie Alvarez vs.  Joachim Hansen

This will be the fight of the night. Both fighters are heavy strikers and both will stand and trade in the stand up. Eddie Alvarez luck however, will run out as Joachim Hansen is the better all round fighter. Though Alvarez beat the online sportsbooks in his first fight as an underdog he is now facing one of the top lightweights in the world. Hellboy Hansen is a better all round fighter and his grappling skills are far better than Alvarez’s who is known primarily as a striker.

Alvarez’s last fight was against Andre Amade who is no where near Hansen’s ability. Joachim Hansen has fought the best of the best in the lightweight division like Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato Sakurai, Vitor Ribeiro, Takanori Gomi, and Rumina Sato. Alvarez is no where near the caliber as the fighters mentioned above and Hansen has the ground skills to overpower Alvarez. Hansen has never been knocked out and I don’t think Alvarez has the ability to step up to fight to level competition at this point in his career. Betting wise Joachim Hansen is a huge betting favorite at Bookmaker at -130 in this fight and even though he is a much better fighter than Alvarez, Eddie does have a punchers chance. Betting wise the online MMA betting lines will be too great to lay on this fight. I would lay off this fight.

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs.  Caol Uno

Caol Uno got a first round bye in the opening round of the Lightweight Grand Prix but now he will have to fight one of the front runners in this tournament in Mitsuhiro Ishida. Ishida is a tough tough fighter who is incredibly strong and with his solid wrestling background. He will overpower Uno who is in the latter stages of his mixed martial arts career. Ishida is younger and stronger and has wins over Gilbert Melendez, and Marcus Aurelio. Right now Caol Uno is getting too old to fight and he has lost a step.

Against top level fighters Uno has not been able to step up and win as he has loses to Andre Amade Gesias Calvancante and Kid Norifumi Yamamoto in his most recent fights. The online betting odds for this fight will be close so I would lay a lot on Mitsuhiro Ishida to over power Uno with his dominate ground and pound attack. At Bookmaker Ishida is a huge betting favorite at -275

Takeshi Yamazaki vs.  Shoji Maruyama

Shoji Maruyama should be coming into this fightas the underdog and he will have the definite power advantage over Takeshi Yamazaki. Shoji has a win over Artur Oumakhanovanbd has much better striking power over Takeshi Yamazaki. Yamazaki is a .500 fighter at 13 - 7 – 2 and is more of a submission artist. He will have lots of problems against a heavy striker.

Yamazaki fights out of the famed Grabaka club in Japan which has fighters like Akihiro Gono and Kazuo Misaki in that club. I like Shoji’s striking over Yamazaki’s grappling in this fight. Bet a fair chunk on Shoji Maruyama for a first round knockout.

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