Shinya Aoki defeated Mizuto Hirota in the final DREAM vs. Sengoku showdown, lifting DREAM to victory 4 to 3 at Dynamite!! 2009 on New Year's Eve in Saitama, Japan.
But unfortunately, the focus won't be on how impressive the submission was, or how convincingly Aoki dominated Hirota. The attention will be on Aoki's disgraceful actions following the fight.
After breaking Hirota's arm with an armbar/hammerlock, Aoki ran in front of his fallen opponent and flipped him off. Aoki then redirected his middle finger towards the crowd -- who continued to cheer him on for some odd reason -- before storming up the ramp to the back.
It was a poor way to cap off what otherwise was an impressive performance for Aoki as the DREAM lightweight champion dominating the Sengoku lightweight titleholder.
DREAM beats Sengoku
In another brutal fight, Alistair Overeem tied the series for DREAM by stretchering out Kazuyuki Fujita courtesy of a knee to the head in the first round.
Sengoku featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara continued to surprise, outpointing Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto by unanimous decision after three rounds. Yamamoto dropped Kanehara with a straight left in the third, but it wasn't enough for him to win the judges over. Yamamoto has lost all three of his fights in this comeback year.
DREAM lightweight Tatsuya Kawajiri used his superior wrestling to put Kazunori Yokota on the mat and pound him out. With 40 seconds left in the final round, Kawajiri secured a tight armbar but Yokota refused to tap, and Kawajiri was forced to settle for the unanimous decision.
DREAM lightweight Hideo Tokoro won the unanimous decision over late replacement Jong-Man Kim.
Melvin Manhoef put DREAM on the board with a first-round knockout over Kazuo Misaki. Misaki stood with Manhoef and paid for it. The stoppage was questionable and Misaki plans on protesting the result.
Two of Japan's most respected veterans – with opposite personalities -- collided and it was Sengoku's Akihiro Gono who pulled the upset over the uninspired Hayato "Mach" Sakurai with an armbar in the second round.
In the opening fights, Sengoku featherweight Michihiro Omigawa knocked out Hiroyuki Takaya, and Sengoku's Hiroshi Izumi won the unanimous decision over pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibara.
Get the latest gear
