SAITAMA, September 23, 2008 -- Gegard Mousasi has made a terrific transition from boxing to MMA, and tonight the 23 year-old Dutchman capped a winning year in fine style, dispatching two opponents to capture the DREAM Middleweight 2008 Grand Prix Championship Belt.

Held before a boisterous full house at the Saitama Super Arena, DREAM's biggest-ever event finished the fightsport production's inaugural season. One-match contests in every weight class complemented the evening' showcase -- the 84kg/185lbs DREAM.6 Middleweight 2008 GP Final Round.

Up early on the card were a couple of semifinal bouts, with winners there fighting for the belt in the Main Event.

The first semi pitted Mousasi against Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef.

Mousasi dove in with the first takedown attempt, and although Manhoef the striker scrambled to stay on his feet, the pair eventually tumbled to the mat, where Mousasi needed little time to turn a rear mount into a triangle choke. Manhoef stood and slammed but could not break free, and had to tap out just 88 seconds in.

The second semifinal saw Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Ronaldo Jacare taking on multidisciplinarian Zelg "Benkei" Galesic of Croatia.

A quick start and a quicker finish. From the bell the action went to the mat, Jacare taking a side then full mount. Galesic bucked the body, looking for a reversal, but instead found himself on the wrong end of an armbar. Jacare with the submission for a spot in the final.

A couple of fighters with first-rate ground games, Mousasi and Jacare were both fresh for their DREAM Middleweight GP Championship showdown.

An early sloppy double-leg takedown almost backfired on Jacare, who after improvising a hoist and slam got good ground position and began maneuvering. After standing to pass, however, Jacare made a second misjudgment, and this one cost him dearly. As the Brazilian dove down to deliver big right punch, he was met by a perfectly timed kick, which caught him square on the jaw. Jacare's trajectory slammed him face first into the canvas, where he lay motionless. As Mousasi readied to attack his unresponsive opponent, the referee stepped in to call it.

An outstanding performance by Mousasi, who, along with the DREAM Middleweight 2008 GP belt, picked up a cool ¥10m (€65,000 Euro/ US$95,000) in prize money.

"I trained hard on my conditioning for this tournament, because I thought it might go the distance in both fights," said Mousasi in his post-event interview. "After the first fight, when I won quickly, I was very confident and I thought I had a very good chance of winning the tournament. It was dangerous what Jacare did because there's always the chance of catching him with a triangle or with a kick to the face. I'm very happy that I didn't win on points, because knockouts and submissions are always better. I want to thank all the fans, I want to thank my team and my brother and my friends and Fedor and everyone else who helped me -- I couldn't have achieved this alone."

Asked about his future plans, Mousasi said, "I'd like to move up a weight class, that's the next challenge, to fight heavier. Then I can also fight in K-1, for a another challenge!"


Highly-anticipated on tonight's card was a bout featuring Mirko CroCop. A steely demeanor and lethal fighting style have made CroCop a fan favorite in Japan and around the world. No one was surprised when the former Croatian special forces officer handily won his March DREAM debut by first-round KO, as in this ring he clearly is the man to beat.

Meanwhile, Alistair Overeem had spent the summer telling anyone who would listen that he was exactly the man to beat CroCop. The Dutch fighter proved his worth by winning his two '08 DREAM bouts in the first round, and tonight he got the chance he'd been waiting for, squaring off with CroCop in a Heavyweight contest. Refusing to be intimidated by CroCop's reputation, Overeem instead took the role of intimidator with a fair bit of pre-bout trash talk.

This was a nasty dance, in which CroCop was assessed one yellow card and Overeem two. After an intense center ring staredown during the referee's pre-bout instructions, the fighters went to it with gusto. Overeem capitalized on an early CroCop slip to wrestle the fight to the mat, then passed guard with dangerous punches to the head and body. A cut opened over CroCop's left eye, prompting a time stoppage and doctor's check.

After resumption, Overeem again put in punches. CroCop managed to briefly get to his feet and launch a high kick, but Overeem got hold of the leg and again took the fight to the mat. Hammering the fists down, the brutish Overeem looked very much in control of this one. With more blood flowing from CroCop's face, a second time stoppage was prescribed. After resumption with a re-stand, Overeem pumped in the knees. CroCop caught one in the gonads, prompting another, longer delay.

Starting now from the standing position, the fighters went to the clinch, where Overeem remained relentless with the knees. CroCop answered in kind, but during one exchange was struck low and hard, resulting in yet another time stoppage. While doctors and ringside officials attended CroCop, the crowd shared the pain as the video monitors displayed replays of the strike and close-ups of the distressed Croatian. Some five minutes passed before CroCop managed to get his knees, but he could not stand up. It was determined he could not continue, and the result was announced as "no contest."

Afterward, CroCop did not appear in the interview space, but Overeem dropped by with some fighting words.

"CroCop has one style, but I can fight many ways, so it's easy for me to adapt to him," boasted the Dutchman. "Tonight I was kicking his ass, I destroyed him. The first knee was in the crotch but the second was not -- CroCop just didn't want to fight anymore. I think he underestimated me, but if he wants to fight again, I'll fight him again. I'd like to finish him!"

Another much-anticipated one-match contest saw 25 year-old DREAM Lightweight GP 2008 finalist Shinya Aoki of Japan take on Todd Moore, a 24 year-old American wrestler who had pledged to bring "the pride of Texas" to his DREAM debut.

Aoki made this one look easy -- spidering up unto the unsuspecting Moore's back, wrapping legs round the trunk then arms round the neck to lock a rear choke. Faced with asphyxiation or submission,