could be more accurately ascribed to his boxing coaches.

In a one-match Lightweight contest, it was Bu Kyung Jong of South Korea and Daisuke Nakamura of Japan.

Jong let an arm slip away after the pair went to the mat, but was good in guard. After a re-stand, Jong planted a knee and Nakamura a punch, but the action picked up when the pair returned to the ground seeking submission holds. A number of solid attempts, escapes and reversals here, good flow to the fight. Both men landed punches from the standing position, and Jong worked the legs well, leaving Nakamura looking in vain for a heel hook when the bell sounded.

The defense was exemplary until early in the second when, with the pair standing and Jung in motion to his left, Nakamura put a right straight punch on the nose to drop his opponent. The Japanese leapt atop the defenseless Jung to hammer home the win.

In the Middleweight class (84 kg/ 185 lbs), jazzy American Jason "Mayhem" Miller took on pro-wrestler Katsuyori Shibata of Japan.

Miller approached aggressively with straight punches and knees to the midsection, and soon Shibata was on his back and Miller in full mount. The American never relinquished control, pounding his fists down, briefly looking to extract an arm before taking a side mount and pumping in a knee. Shibata could do nothing here but absorb blows, as Miller held down the head and brought up the knee at will. At one point, Miller smiled and assumed a peace-sign pose for the benefit of ringside photographers. When he rose to his knees and resumed pounding down the fists, the referee stepped in to call the fight.

"I want to congratulate Shibata, he never quit," said Miller from the winner's circle, before bellowing, in Japanese, "I am a superstar! I am a monster!"

Also at Middleweight, Dutch dynamo Melvin Manhoef met Dae Won Kim of South Korea.

The pair stood off for a time before going to a clinch. After separating, suddenly it was a slugfest. Surprisingly Kim the judoka gave about as good as he got, and was on top, in half mount, when the two tumbled to the mat. Manhoef muscled his way out of trouble and into a rear fetal mount and after firing forth a stunning knee, commenced to hammering the fists down on Kim's head, prompting a referee stop.

"Two weeks ago I fought Remy Bonjasky, so this time I don't think I trained well enough," said Manhoef from center ring. "But fighting here is my dream, so I promise next time you're going to see a monster!"

Apparently, monster season is upon us.

The first bout on the night was a Featherweight (67 kg/ 147 lbs) fight featuring Japanese combatants Takeshi Yamazaki and Shoji. They went to the mat frequently, Yamazaki getting the takedowns, Shoji able in guard. Plenty of grappling, a couple of undramatic reversals but neither fighter able to put the hurt through. Shoji connected with a couple of knees here, but Yamazaki worked the armbar, which Shoji only just twisted away from in the dying seconds of the first. In the second Yamazaki again scored with takedowns and worked hard on the ground, while a spry Shoji landed a dandy high kick to bloody his opponent's face. A closer fight than Yamazaki's unanimous decision might suggest.

The DREAM.3 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 2nd Round attracted a sellout crowd of 21,789 to the Saitama Super Arena. The event was broadcast live in Japan on SkyPerfect TV Pay-Per-View, and live in the United States on HDNet Fights (http://www.hdnetfights.com). It will be delay-broadcast across Japan on the TBS Network and in the United States on HDNet Fights. For broadcast information in other countries, contact local providers. As always, visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all FEG productions.

DREAM.3 Fighters' Comments



SAITAMA, May 11, 2008 -- Here are selected post-event comments from DREAM.3 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 2nd Round fighters.

Takeshi Yamazaki:

"I wasn't very happy about the fight, I should have used more of the striking techniques which I had been concentrating on during training.

"I was supposed to fight for Cage Force sometime between April and June, but because of my opponent's injury, the fight was cancelled and my next fight will be in September.
My contract with Cage Force does not prohibit me fighting in a different ring, so I took this fight because it was good timing, and would not affect my next fight in September."



Jason Miller:

"I wanted to finish the fight faster but Shibata was a pretty tough fighter, he fought with the samurai spirit and he didn't give up. So, it wasn't exactly what I'd planned. But, all I wanted was to make the fight exciting.

I don't mind who I fight next, but my hero is Sakuraba, and I'd like a chance to beat my own hero. My dream is to go to the top, be a Dream Champion and have a belt!"



Melvin Manhoef:

"I didn't tell either Dream or K-1, but I was injured in last fight against Remy Bonjasky. Because I received a lot of kicks and punches in the ribs, I had to have surgery to
take out blood from behind the lung and I was hospitalized for seven days. So, I couldn't fight as aggressively as I wanted, I needed to be patient."



Nick Diaz:

"It took a long time for this fight to be set, and so I had a problem losing weight and that affected my performance. But I'm happy to win, and if they told me I had to get to 70 kg/154 lbs, I would do it. I am looking forward to my next fight against [Hayato] Sakurai for the Welterweight championship!"