Good article breaking down 2011 possibilites for DREAM and SRC

[SHOGUN]

http://nightmareofbattle.com/?p=4999

With 2010 having come to an end, as usual, it will take a while until the two bigger JMMA promotions hold their first events of the year.

I think Dynamite!! showed that the higher weight classes might be necessary in Japan. Kharitonov/Mizuno and Overeem/Duffee gave a little different feel than some of the other fights. But with Strikeforce’s GP this year it will be hard for DREAM to hold any fights there at all.

They’re supposed to split up the 63kg division to Bantamweight and Featherweight ones. The champion gets to choose which division he wants to be champion in and they want to hold a GP to decide a champion in the other. I think Takaya will choose Featherweight.

So a Bantamweight GP could feature fighters such as Hideo Tokoro, Kazuhisa Watanabe, Bibiano Fernandes, Yoshiro Maeda, Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura, and Kenji Osawa. They can definitely make a good tournament.

Lightweight in DREAM feels rough right now. Aoki’s future is unclear after everything that has happened (not only his last fight but what has happened following it) and it feels like Kawajiri is looking at America. Kikuno is the only one right now. There are guys outside that can be brought in though (see below).

Welterweight and Middleweight are also very thin right now. They possibly have Zaromskis, High, Sakuraba, Sakurai, and Nakahara at Welterweight. Middleweight seems next to empty unless I’m missing something.

I think Featherweight and Bantamweight are the only divisions that they can set up solid plans for right now. It’ll be very interesting to see how the first card of the year looks.

SRC’s divisions are also quite thin right now. There is no clear challenger for Hioki right now. Osawa has ways to go and he’s aiming at the Olympics. Kanehara has lost two in a row. Maybe Hoshino. Maybe Yokota drops down. They have Sandro. They need some new people there though. There’s no shortage of Featherweights in the smaller promotions though.

Probably not the Bantamweight GP final they wanted but with Shimizu’s offensive grappling style he could be a fan favorite. There are so many guys that can be brought in at this weight though so it’s not a problem if it’s thin right now.

I really want them to hold a GP at Lightweight to decide the next champion. There are a few Lightweight in the smaller promotions that I really want to see get a shot in DREAM or SRC. A Lightweight GP with a selection from Maxi, Brian Cobb, Jadamba Narantungalag, Leo Santos, Mizuto Hirota, Akihiro Gono, Yasuaki Kishimoto, ISAO (Kobayashi), Daisuke Hanazawa, Shinji Sasaki, Daisuke “Amazon” Sugie, Yusuke Endo, and Kotetsu Boku would be awesome.

At Welterweight they have KTaro, Okuno, and Enomoto. Okuno feels like a guy who could be quite popular. I have no idea who they’re gonna match KTaro up with in a title fight. Hornbuckle has the Bellator tournament coming up. Maybe Okuno vs. someone from Pancrase (they have a thick Welteweight division right now) and the winner faces KTaro.

Middleweight is almost only Santiago, Misaki, and Khalidov right now. I want to see Misaki vs. Khalidov next. It’s a fight that would get some attention by fans in the U.S. as well. Izumi and Kawamura should drop to Middleweight since Light Heavyweight is tough. What happened to Fabio Silva?

At Heavyweight you could make a mediocre tournament. Dave Herman, Peter Graham, Big Jim York, Blagoi Ivanov, Cristiano Kaminishi, Takauji Kanechika, Yoshihiro “KISS” Nakao, Akihito Tanaka, Pe de Pano (if he still fights), some Korean, and some big Mongolian Wrestling dude from Team Asashoryu. A Japanese star is missing though.

Anybody have any ideas?

Depth in the larger weights are a concern by both companies, but Sengoku could really run a pretty good LW tournament and DREAM has potential for a great BW tournmanet.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Japan will never turn around until they find a way to make a heavyweight star or two. Iishi's failure to capture the public is the biggest story in JMMA in 2010 imo.

[EmpireWF]

They could use a star in any weight class.

[Liquidrob]

MMA just isnt what it was in Japan, thats just how it is, I hate to say it, but the 'fad' is over

Even the ratings for Dynamite tanked, they were banking on Overeem being a big star, doing all the shows, press, etc...winning the K-1, it should have been a big rating and it just wasnt, its not even because of Overeem, the fans have moved on

Also, like W2B said, Ishii just didnt pan out, right from the start he lost to Yoshida, that was supposed to be the passing of the torch, it just didnt happen

[Liquidrob]

Another sign that is not good would be Overeem being in the HW GP, I think he loves fighting in Japan and was pumped up after DREAM and telling people to call challenge him there, but than the ratings came in and the GP was made right after

His only 'big' fights in DREAM for him would be Barnett and maybe Sergei, both in the GP now, so I dont see much from DREAM this year with HW's

[Warner2BruceTD]

They could use a star in any weight class.

Obviously, but the culture has trouble accepting smaller men compared to bigger men. Kid, Aoki, Gomi, Akiyama etc , all stars, all failed to spark a boom or change business significantly.

They need a bigger man to capture the public, the light heavies and heavies have always been the big draws, even prowres works this way there. Hong Man Choi & Iishi had a shot, both didn't make it for various reasons. Akebono was very short term until it was obvious he couldn't fight.

Or, it could just be that the fad has passed, and will never recover. I don't know if I buy that, because prowres with its obvious similarities (especiallly there where the fans are the same and don't look down their noses at wrestling) has been relatively strong for 50 or 60 years, with some peaks and vally's. Maybe mma is jujst in a valley, like wrestling.

[Liquidrob]

It could come back, but with K-1 having money troubles that doesnt help, they are based off TV money, so they need strong ratings

I dont know if all the weight classes are good for Japan, they like open weight, underdogs, monsters fighting, etc...I dont know if they're ready or want very 'even' fights

I dont see a Saku emerging any time soon either

Warner, Kid was a huge star, but his injury really took a lot from him and other out of the ring issues also

[EmpireWF]

Even with his debut loss, if Ishii had any kind of charisma worth a damn, he'd be okay. But supposedly, he's as stiff as a rock...unfortunately, not the rock.

[Liquidrob]

Even with his debut loss, if Ishii had any kind of charisma worth a damn, he'd be okay. But supposedly, he's as stiff as a rock...unfortunately, not the rock.

Also his fighting style doesnt help, he doesnt excite the crowd at all, all his big fights in Japan were decisions with little action

Yoshida, Minowa and Le Banner

He just isnt there yet, in Japan more than anywhere it truely is sink or swim