Inside MMA 438- Dream 16 Preview

Michael "The Voice" Schiavello takes us to Japan and inside Dream 16, premiering LIVE on HDNet September 25th at 2 A.M. EST and replaying on Oct. 1st at 10:00 pm EST

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• hdnet
• hd
• mma
• ufc
• mixed martial arts
• ultimate fighting

[odus]

@SamuraixJack Sengoku is waiting till DREAM dies so they can become the face of MMA in Japan (even though they're a shit organization that nobody cares to attend). It was the yakuza scandal, lack of TV deal and low TV ratings that killed PRIDE. I don't believe Zuffa killed PRIDE. Sakikabara and the yakuza got the last laugh and fucked the UFC over when they bought PRIDE.

Fighters like KID and Ishii, and freakshows are the only way Japanese will tune in for MMA. Masato retiring K-1 hurt FEG big.

[SamuraixJack]

@odus That to me is VERY surprising. That being said, i hope someone does something soon. Hopefully FEG will pull some stars from K-1 so we can FINALLY see a DREAM HW champion. I cant imagine Bob Sapp coming back.

[SamuraixJack]

@odus did u not read what I wrote? i already understand that it is a huge fucking deal, but if it were really that big, DREAM, Sengoku, and every other mma org in Japan would be Defunct by now. as for pride, i thought it died because zuffa bought them?

in any event, i can agree that unless someone like kyotaro or some other star transfers over into mma, or unless there is another masato out there, japanese mma will die, but for now its still walking, barely, but still.

[odus]

@SamuraixJack Oh I forgot to mention, as of right now after DREAM 16, MMA in Japan and FEG is in serious jeopardy. DREAM 16 failed to gather up even decent ratings. FEG is struggling to keep DREAM alive and they're seriously on the verge of dropping DREAM because of the poor ratings. Don't be surprised if DREAM collapses in 2011. Nobody in Japan gives a shit about MMA anymore which is why nobody tunes in for MMA. FEG seriously has to pull out everything they got for DYNAMITE or else DREAM dies.

[odus]

@SamuraixJack Did you not read what I wrote? TV ratings in Japan are a HUGE FUCKING DEAL. I'm talking about Japan here, dumbass. Low TV ratings was one of the reasons PRIDE died. Aoki is not a big draw like Masato and KID, and neither is Saku due to his downfall. At the moment, the only fighters DREAM can rely on for ratings are Ishii and KID. Oh, DREAM and K-1 are two different attractions. K-1 has been lasting for a long time and still is. But MMA in Japan has been dying for the past 4 years.

[SamuraixJack]

Your basing TV ratings on how well a combat sport is doing, when you should be judging it as a whole. Saying japanese mma is dead when you have packed arenas is ridiculous. Who cares about ratings. The TUF ratings this year are HORRIBLE, but people still know who bruce leroy is, does that mean the UFC is dead? no. the same applies.

[SamuraixJack]

@odus Once again, your only looking at DREAM. And if thats all your looking at, then your not really making any sense. DREAM still has MANY stars. Aoki pulls in crowds on his own, as well as Sakuraba, DESPITE the fact that he is quite old. And must we forget about the K-1 HW champion Kyotaro, as well as Yoshihiro Sato. When you add people like that, plus the other foreign stars like mousasi, manhoef, and your usual judo champs, mma in japan aint goin no where like i said.

[odus]

@SamuraixJack LOL You clearly don't know shit about MMA in Japan. You think packing the arena is everything? Do you know how important TV ratings are in Japan? DREAM has been struggling to keep up with at least decent TV ratings ever since and they're going downhill right now. They relied mainly on KID, Sexyama, and Masato for high ratings, with the latter two no longer with them. MMA has been dying in Japan since 2006. Nobody in Japan cares about MMA anymore.

[CloserEnd]

This looks like a great card on paper, hopefully the fights will live up to their full potential.

Too bad HDNet won't release Dream events on DVD, I'd like to support them financially, but I live in a country where HDNet is not available, so I'm forced to watch these events via not-so-legal means.

[FullBloodedHmoob]

@SamuraixJack yea true, dana white that asian hater said that the ufc buying out pride was to join the two and swap fighters but instead he shut down pride completely...some of the best fights were dream fighters against strikeforce fighters...the yakuza who own pride should of made dana white gone forever