spirited start as the boys went straight to the mat, where Nakamura twice positioned for the armbar, and twice the wily Tokoro broke away. After things settled some, the persistent Nakamura extracted and hyperextended the arm a third time, and now made it work to pick up the submission win and remain undefeated in his four HERO'S and DREAM bouts.

Japanese judoka Yukio Sakaguchi met Andy Ologun of Nigeria in a Welterweight contest. Sakaguchi got promising ground position early, but Ologun twisted and turned to stymie his opponent. A series of reversals before the pair were re-stood, whereupon an Ologun right uppercut rattled Sakaguchi, who stumbled back and to the mat. Ologun leapt atop to rain punches on the unresponsive Japanese fighter, prompting the referee to step in and stop it. Ologun by KO.

Commensurate with Dynamite's wide appeal is the wide variety of bouts on the card. One of the more bizarre happenings tonight was bling DJ Ozma's production of a Heavyweight (93.1kg/205lbs+) getdown between American Bob "The Beast" Sapp and a flesh-and-blood anime character -- "Kinniku Mantaro," from Parts Unknown. After a pageant of an introduction featuring dozens of resplendent flamingo gals, the masked Mantaro took to the ring. The Beast followed with his trademark Also sprach Zarathustra entrance, which, for perhaps the first time ever, seemed almost subdued.

Mantaro got a takedown and top position early, striking his listless opponent from side and north-south mounts. Sapp soon reversed to a rear mount, but did little with it. When the pair got to their feet, Sapp laid in with the haymakers, landing a couple to Mantaro's head to earn a referee stop and the win.

Japanese pro-wrestler Minowaman fought the night's first DREAM MMA Rules contest -- an Openweight bout against Dutch K-1 fighter Errol "The Bonecrusher" Zimmerman. Minowaman turned an early takedown into a heel hook, which a defiant Zimmerman attempted to punch his way out of, before finally tapping at 1:01.

It was announced before the Dynamite event that DREAM Lightweight GP 2008 Champion Joachim Hansen did not clear his pre-event medical checkup due ill effects from a previously-suffered concussion. Scheduled opponent JZ Calvan appeared in the ring to wish Hansen a fast and full recovery and apologize to fans for the fight's cancellation.


K-1 Rules Bouts

Moroccan bad boy Badr Hari has generated no shortage of controversy in his K-1 career, most recently by stomping on Remy Bonjasky at the K-1 World GP Final. That foul earned Hari the most severe penalties in K-1 history, but did not keep him out of this event, where his Openweight opponent was Dutch MMA specialist Alistair Overeem.

In an interview earlier in the week, Overeem had promised to "teach Hari a lesson" in the ring. When informed of this, Hari burst out laughing. The old adage, 'He who laughs last, laughs best', was apt tonight.

Punches from both fighters to start, Hari twice sailing high kicks past their target and checking his low kicks. For an MMA fighter, Overeem looked plenty confident on his feet, getting through with a hurtful left straight punch and closing to work the body, all the while staying smart with his evasions. An Overeem knee caught Hari hard on the chin, and a quick left straight follow-up deposited him on the canvas. Hari beat the count, but Overeem stepped in again to show the down was no fluke, planting a powerful left hook to drop Hari. Referee Nobuaki Kakuda took one look at the felled fighter and immediately started waving his arms.

"For all MMA fighters," bellowed an elated Overeem from center ring, "and for all those who think respect is important, there you go!"

In a 71kg/157lbs contest, two-time World Max Japan Champion Yoshihiro Sato took on 22 year-old Ukrainian muay thai fighter Artur Kyshenko, runner-up in this year's World Max Final.

Kyshenko got his fists going in the first, landing a decent spinning back punch; while Sato worked the kicks to stay even on the judges' cards. In the second Sato stayed with the hard low kicks but Kyshenko again closed well with punches, tagging the Japanese fighter repeatedly with the right. Midway through the round Sato also began to punch, but Kyshenko had now taken the edge on two cards. Kyshenko again led with and landed the right in the third, but appeared fatigued as Sato exploited a relaxed guard to plant a kick to the chin. Kyshenko by the narrowest of majority decisions.

In a thrilling contest at 70kg/154lbs, it was Japanese fighters Kozo Takeda and Tatsuya Kawajiri. An explosive left-right combination earned Kawajiri a fast down and left Takeda's nose badly bloodied. The focused Kawajiri split his opponent's the guard adeptly before leaping in with a devastating knee to score another down. Takeda was in serious trouble now, and Kawajiri, smelling blood, came in swinging after resumption to finish him off.

In an Openweight showdown of near-namesakes, Japanese seidokaikan fighter Musashi met DREAM Middleweight GP 2008 Champion Gegard Mousasi. The Dutch MMA specialist came into the fight undefeated in his four DREAM bouts, but how would he perform in K-1?

Very well, as it happened. Mousasi, who has a boxing background, was simply relentless with his fists, and that made the difference. Musashi was off his game and although he attempted to control the distance with low kicks, Mousasi would not relinquish control. Throughout the round, the Dutchman punched to the body and head. Mousasi scored his first down with a right straight punch, earned a second with a barrage of blows, then laid in on his roped and unresponsive opponent to bring the referee in to stop, even as Musashi crumbled to the mat. A tremendous display of aggressive punching power.

"Thanks for coming," said Mousasi from center ring, "I think DREAM is the greatest organization, come and see our fights!"


K-1 Koshien

Introduced this year, the K-1 Koshien high school tournament aims to foster good sportsmanship and appreciation for the martial arts while developing the next generation of K-1 fighters. Participation is open to 16-18 year-olds in a weight range of 57kg/126lbs to 62kg/137lbs, and bouts are conducted under K-1 rules. At Dynamite, the K-1 Koshien 2008 top four battled to determine who would be the first to wear the Championship belt.

In the first semifinal, Kanto Region winner Koya Urabe beat Chubu Region representative Ryuya Kusakabe by third-round TKO; while in the second semi