Oct 6, 2009 - In the main event of a sometimes exciting, sometimes bizarre MMA event, Bibiano Fernandes defeated Hiroyuki Takaya by split decision to win the Dream Featherweight Grand Prix Tuesday at Dream 11 in Yokohama, Japan.
In the first round Takaya showed good kickboxing skills and good takedown defense, preventing Fernandes from putting him in a bad position, and late in the round a Takaya punch opened up a big cut over Fernandes' right eye. It was an exciting round in which Takaya coontrolled most of the action.
The second round was even better, getting started with Fernandes coming out blazing, knocking Takaya down with a hard strike and then taking his back. But Takaya weathered the assault, got free of Fernandes and turned it into a stand-up striking battle again. They ended the fight on their feet, throwing bombs at each other, and Fernandes, known as a Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist, showed better striking skills than expected. The fight could have gone either way: I would have scored it for Takaya, but I have no complaints with the two judges who sided with Fernandes.
Both semifinal fights featured exciting action and questionable refereeing. Fernandes got to the final by defeating Joe Warren with a first-round arm bar, although Warren protested that he never tapped out, and replays confirmed that he didn't. Takaya got to the final by defeating Hideo Tokoro by second-round TKO in a fight that probably should have been ended after the first: Takaya was badly pummeling Tokoro as the first round ended (including one punch that appeared to land after the bell) and Tokoro was clearly dazed at the start of the second.
Fernandes improves his professional MMA record to 7-2, with the two losses coming to two of the best featherweights in MMA history, Kid Yamamoto and Urijah Faber. He's one of the best smaller fighters in the world, and I'd love to see him fight in the U.S. and give the WEC a try. He could make 135 pounds, and I think he'd be a real threat in the WEC's bantamweight division.
The Dream 11 show also saw Shinya Aoki beat Joachim Hansen for the lightweight title, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Kazushi Sakuraba win mismatches and Ikuhisa Minowa and Sokoudjou advance to the finals of the Super Hulk tournament. For more on Dream 11, check our Dream 11 results, and our Dream 11 play by play on Twitter.
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