his way out of it but Monson was inexorable, submitting his opponent at 1:42.

At 89kg/196lbs, Murilo "Ninja" Rua of Brazil met Japanese fighter Riki Fukuda, a late addition to the card.

They stood and struck, Fukuda the southpaw threading the straight punch through early, Ninja closing to clinch and throw but Fukuda taking the top position and passing with the fists. Standing, Fukuda was better with the boxing, rattling Ninja and bringing him to the ground; the Brazilian's legs wrapping round to stop the attacks. Standing with Fukuda facing the corner, Ninja landed a few from behind, opening a cut near the Japanese fighter's eye and encouraging the ringside doctor to have a look. Fukuda was cleared to continued, whereupon Ninja took a single leg takedown to side then rear mount but could not finish -- the more dangerous action through the first happened with the pair again got to their feet and resumed trading punches.

They stood plenty in the second, but the stamina was slipping away, and it was only late in the contest that Fukuda connected with the force required to hurt Ninja, landing a left that was the strike of the round. Although he could not finish his opponent, Fukuda had done enough to take the unanimous decision.

In a lightweight bout, Brazilian jiujitsu fighter Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro took on Greco-Roman Olympic silver medallist Katsuhiko Nagata of Japan.

After a couple of Nagata low kicks the pair went down in a struggle, whereupon Ribeiro deftly tied up his opponent and worked to a side then full mount to land blows to the head and body. The Brazilian maintained control, switching from side to full mount and striking with the knees and fists while negating Nagata's challenges. Nagata's defense was adequate until finally a knee to the temple opened a jetting cut, prompting a referee break, a doctor's stop and a Ribeiro victory.

A middleweight contest featured kyokushin karate stylist Andrews Nakahara of Brazil and old-school Japanese judoka Shungo Oyama.

Nakahara was simply the faster and more powerful fighter here, tagging his opponent at will then exploiting a failed throw to send Oyama to the ground and laying in with strikes to bring the referee in to end it at just 2:00.

In an 88kg/164lbs showdown, it was Japanese pro wrestlers Minowaman and Katsuyori Shibata, both of whom hail from Nagoya's Aichi Prefecture; and both of whom were apparently keen to impress the local fans.

Both fired punches early, Minowaman landing an estimable left before taking the fight to the mat. Here neither could gain the advantage and a re-stand was called. They preferred the ground however, and set up north-south, striving in vain for leglocks through the balance of the first. Blows and throws then stalemate in the second, Minowaman failing in a leg takedown; Sakurai landing some punches before wrapping legs round in rear mount and cauliflowering his opponent's ears. With seconds left on the clock, Sakurai hoisted a German suplex to end it with some oomph and take a unanimous decision.

All fights were contested under DREAM MMA Rules (1stR x10m/2ndRx5min). The Olympia DREAM.8 Welterweight Grand Prix 2009 1st Round attracted 9,129 to the NGK Hall in Aichi. It was broadcast same day in Japan on SkyPerfect and the TBS network; and in the United States on HDNet. For delay-broadcast information in other areas, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all FEG productions.

DREAM.8 Fighters Post-Event Comments


Katsuyori Shibata

What is your reaction to the fight?

Until today, I have continued just losing. Two years ago I won in Nagoya, yet since then it has taken two years to actually get another win. Today I wasn’t concerned with technique. It was all just heart. The fight was not a clean fight at all. In fact, it was very messy. But I won. I won because of heart; a pro-wrestlers heart. The first round was hard, but my pro-wrestler’s heart was strong.
What are your plans for the future?
I need to get stronger as a fighter, and I will be able to say exactly what I want to say after I have. I do want to continue fighting as a pro-wrestler though.


Minowaman

What is your reaction to the fight?
The fight showed me that I need to improve and be more careful in the future. In the latter part of the fight, after the leg-locks, I lost my stamina. Shibata came back on strong, but my confidence decreased along with my stamina. I wanted to go for his leg again, but I couldn’t get my body to do what I was thinking. I feel like my heart and body weren't connecting very well tonight.
He used a dramatic move against you…
He German-suplexed me very well. I think Shibata has good stamina and is very strong. I really wanted to go for a headlock just before the suplex, but he managed to get my back and throw me.


Andrew Nakahara

How do you feel about the fight?

I am really very happy today. Today’s result is due to all of my hard effort in preparation for this fight. For me personally, the best part of this fight is the fact that I could train well, and get the result I was after once I managed to step into the ring.
What are your plans for the future?

I want to get lots of experience by fighting often. In August there is also a karate tournament that I will need to focus on.


Shungo Oyama

How do you feel about the fight?

In my last fight against Yoon Dong Sik I don’t feel I managed to do my best, so in this fight I really tried to keeping moving forward and being aggressive. However, I got hit after failing to take him to the ground I think.


Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro

How