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MMA: Mousasi Making A Name For Himself In Japanese Mixed Martial Art

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  • MMA: Mousasi Making A Name For Himself In Japanese Mixed Martial Art

    MMA: MOUSASI MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN JAPANESE MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
    Anthony Malakian, PA SportsTicker

    Vancouver Sun
    Wednesday, September 24, 2008
    Canada

    Going into the DREAM middleweight tournament, most American fight
    fans had probably never heard of Gegard Mousasi, an Armenian-born
    mixed martial artist who now calls Holland home.

    The 23-year-old had made a name for himself as a striking coach for
    the great Fedor Emelianenko, but prior to fighting for the Japan-based
    DREAM organization, his most notable win was when he stopped journeyman
    Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos back in February.

    Fighting at the famed Saitama Super Arena in Japan early Tuesday
    morning, Mousasi firmly established himself as one of the elite
    middleweights in the world by dominating both Melvin Manhoef and
    Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to win the DREAM middleweight tournament.

    You don't get to be a striking coach for Emelianenko without being a
    top-tier muay thai practitioner, but Mousasi showed off his ground
    game against Manhoef in the first semifinal bout of the tournament
    that began at DREAM 2 back in April.

    Manhoef, who is also a Dutchman, is a fearsome striker and has a
    similar fighting style and temperament as Quinton Jackson. Not wanting
    to stand with the 32 year old, Mousasi shot in and worked his way to
    secure the takedown.

    Manhoef (22-5-1) was able to spin around for a reversal, but spun
    right into a triangle-choke submission. Manhoef did his best "Rampage"

    Jackson impression, picked Mousasi up and tried to slam him to the
    ground to break the hold.

    All it did, though, was make the submission tighter and Manhoef tapped
    out a minute-and-a-half into the first round.

    In the finals Mousasi (24-2-1) faced Souza, whom many believed to
    be the favorite to win the tournament from the very beginning. Souza
    submitted Croatia's Zelg Galesic in their semifinal-round bout with
    an armbar a minute-and-a-half into the first round.

    "In this tournament, I have become friends with Zelg and Jacare,"
    Mousasi said. "They helped me. I'm happy that I won, but I consider
    them as my friends, so it was hard for me to [fight] Jacare."

    Like so many of his countrymen, Souza, a Brazilian, is a whiz on the
    ground. So when Souza took Mousasi to the mat with a pretty double-leg
    takedown to start the fight, it seemed as though the Dutch-Armenian's
    dream run to the belt was in severe danger.

    >From his back, Mousasi pushed the Brazilian away. As Souza jumped back
    in with a right hand, Mousasi ended the fight with a perfectly timed
    upkick to Souza's jaw. Souza (10-2) went limp and the referee stopped
    the fight two minutes and fifteen seconds into the opening round.

    In addition to his wins over Manhoef and Souza, Mousasi also upset
    Denis Kang, a highly regarded fighter from Canada, with a triangle
    choke in the first round of the tournament at DREAM 2.

    Fourteen of his wins have come by knockout or stoppage and he has
    eight submission victories to his ledger.

    Mousasi has now won 11 fights in a row and is a front-runner for
    fighter of the year with a record of 6-0 in 2008. His last loss came
    in 2006 when Akihiro Gono submitted him in the second round with
    an armbar.

    In other notable bouts, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, who was once
    considered one of the best heavyweights in the world, was getting
    beat by Alistair Overeem in their heavyweight fight.

    Overeem, though, kept landing numerous knees to Filipovic's groin. The
    final knee forced the Croatian to his back where he laid for several
    minutes before it was deemed that he could not continue. The bout
    was declared a no-contest.

    Top-lightweight contender Shinya Aoki submitted an over-matched Todd
    Moore in the first round with a neck crank. Hayato Sakurai won a
    close decision over Kuniyoshi Hironaka.

    In a bout between two fan favorites, Masakatsu Funaki submitted
    Ikuhisa Minowa with a heal hook a minute into the first round and
    Sergei Kharitonov stopped Jimmy Ambriz in the first round.

    Ambriz tapped out due to the onslaught of strikes.
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