American Eddie Alvarez and Japanese fighters Tatsuya Kawajiri and Caol Uno advanced in the quarterfinals of the Dream mixed martial arts Lightweight Grand Prix tournament today in Japan.
From an American perspective, the big story was the great fight put on by Alvarez, a Philadelphian who beat the Norwegian Joachim Hansen by unanimous decision. With a combination of great striking and effective takedowns, it was a tremendous showing for Alvarez, who runs his professional record to 14-1. Alvarez is the only American in the tournament, and if he wins, he'll be a budding MMA star in both countries.
For the Japanese fans, the biggest fight was Caol Uno's victory over Mitsuhiro Ishida. Uno showed impressive striking when he absolutely drilled Ishida flush on the nose in the first round, sending blood flying everywhere, and early in the second round, they went to the ground and Uno forced Ishida to tap with a rear-naked choke.
In the other tournament fight, Tatsuya Kawajiri beat Luiz Buscape by unanimous decision. In a fight that was part of the Dream.3 card but not part of the tournament, American Nick Diaz beat Japan's Katsuya Inoue.
Alvarez will fight Kawajiri in the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix semifinals. Uno will fight the winner of the upcoming Shinya Aoki-Katsuhiko Nagata fight.
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