Get ready for some fireworks. According to DREAM’s official website, the Middleweight Grand Prix matchups for round 2 have been announced, and they won’t disappoint the hardcore fanbase in the least bit. Although I believe some of these fights could be flipped around to benefit other fighters, these matchups are definitely tailor made for the future. Here are the matchups:
• Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Ronaldo Jacare vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
• Dong Sik Yoon vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Zelg Galesic vs. Kin Taiei
Obviously, one of my favorite MMA fighters in Melvin Manhoef will be looking to destroy the Japanese legend that is Sakuraba. I’ve hyped up Manhoef enough in the past to make him seem like a MMA god, but the fact of the matter is that I love the guy for being a straight up monster when it comes to the striking game. It’s all or nothing for Manhoef… comparative to some MLB baseball players like Ryan Howard or Adam Dunn… damn you Howard for screwing my fantasy team.
Unfortunately for Manhoef, Sakuraba is pretty able on the ground. DREAM may have seen this matchup as an easy win for Sakuraba to advance, but one Manhoef fist could end it. It should be an interesting style matchup.
Ronaldo Jacare vs. Jason Miller is going to be a tough matchup for “Mayhem”. While he has some slick jiu-jitsu and decent striking, Jacare is one of the best grapplers in the world. The ground game won’t be such a luxury for Miller in that matchup.
The “Dongbar” will be out in full force when he takes on Gegard Mousasi. Yoon has some solid judo skills and a good submission game, but I think Mousasi’s power in the standup along with some good submission abilities of his own will make this one of the more intriguing battles on the evening.
The Croatian striking Zelg Galesic will take on Kin Taiei for the second time in his career. In their first matchup, he stopped the fight via TKO in a little over :30 seconds. I don’t see how this will go too much different a second time around. Galesic will have a significant striking advantage.
June 15th should provide the hardcore fanbase with some great fights from Japan. For all the early morning fanatics, set your alarms and write DREAM 4 into your calendars.