FieLDS Dynamite Fighters' Post-Event Comments *spoiler*

[tuco]

K-1 Rules Bouts

Overeem vs Hari

Badr Hari

Q: The K-1 fighters haven't done well tonight. What do you think about that?

A: A fighter is a fighter. I don't see it as MMA vs. K-1, I just see it as one fighter against another fighter. Today was their lucky day and I don't think it says that MMA is stronger than K-1.

Q: Why do you think you lost today?

A: I was in a big tournament just a few weeks ago so it is very difficult to stay focused. I took this fight because I like fighting, but it was too difficult to stay focused in such a short period of time. That's why I don't think I'll be fighting in the Dynamite show any more [because I plan to be in the K-1 tournament final again next year].

Q: Overeem talked about the MMA rules fight that you two are supposed to have eventually.

A: There won't be an MMA fight in the near future. I'm a stand-up fighter and that's what I do. I'll be focusing on stand-up.

Alistair Overeem (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Badr Hari challenged me and we agreed to two fights: one with K-1 rules and one with MMA. This was the K-1 fight.

Q: Your thoughts about your opponent?

A: He's a great athlete, but he has no respect. No respect for fighters, for other people, and especially for DREAM fighters. I think that's not good. That's why I don't like him.

Q: You were fighting in the less-familiar K-1 ring and you won. Is it even worth it to fight Badr Hari in DREAM rules?

A: My management and FEG both agreed on it, and he challenged me. A deal is deal.

Q: Do you have a message for Badr Hari?

A: Let's just see if he shows up for the DREAM fight.

Q: Any comment on Mirko's 6-month leave of absence for recovery from his upcoming surgery?

A: I wish him the best of luck in his recovery. It's unfortunate that I won't be able to fight him, but it's not a priority. I wan't to fight the current K-1 champion, Remy Bonjasky.

Q: in K-1 or MMA rules?

A: Of course, K-1 rules. When I challenge someone I fight their rules. It's meaningless to do otherwise.

Q: Anyone you want to fight in MMA?

A: Fedor Emelianenko.

Mousasi vs Musashi

Musashi

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I tensed up and I was caught by surprise. By the time I realized the fight was getting into dangerous territory and it was too late. I started taking some really heavy punches and I knew I was in trouble.

Q: What will you do to improve for 2009?

A: Yes. Well, the fact that I stiffened up really bothers me. As a professional I feel that it was unexcusable.

Q: Did you feel that you had to get a win for all the other K-1 fighters who lost tonight?

A: I didn't feel any special pressure about representing K-1. Each fight is a man-to-man affair. Tanikawa did visit my dressing room and told me that all the other fighters are losing and that I need to win one for K-1. I do wish I could have. But it wasn't pressure to represent K-1 that caused me to stiffen up. I can't blame anyone but myself for my loss.

Q: Does your opponent have a future in K-1?

A: He's quick and tough. I think he's got a future. But first I'd like to face him myself.

Q: There is a rumor about you changing your name.

A: NO. I've fought as Musashi for a long time. I'll continue to fight as Musashi. I wouldn't know what to change my name to anyway. You won't see another fight like the one tonight. I shouldn't have taken such punches and I won't make such a mistake again. It was the first Dynamite fight that I've lost. I hope to face my opponent again next year.

Gegard Mousasi (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I gained a little weight for the fight so I wasn't sure about my condition, but everything went well and I was happy with my punching power.

Q: Musashi said he would like to meet you again in the K-1 ring. Your thoughts?

A: This was a one time thing for me. I want to concentrate on boxing and MMA. But if DREAM wants me to fight Musashi then that's what I'll do.

Q: When you won the champion belt at the DREAM event, you mentioned you might fight in K-1.

A: Well, I just wanted to show that I could fight in K-1, but most fighters are a lot heavier than I am and it would take a while before I felt comfortable with a heavier weight. Maybe later in my career, I would consider fighting in K-1 again.

Kawajiri vs Takeda

Kozo Takeda

Q: What do you think of your opponent?

A: He was just as I expected.

Q: Did you take this fight lightly?

A: Do I look like the kind of fighter that would?

Q: The K-1 fighters are losing to the MMA fighters in K-1 rules. What do you think about that?

A: Well, I look at each fight as a man on man fight. But looking at the overall results I think that it hurts my pride that we are losing by our own rules.

Q: How's your condition?

A: I'm actually in pretty good shape. There were a lot of MMA fans in the crowd tonight, and many stand-up fans as well. I wish I could have done better for all the fans.

Tatsuya Kawajiri (Winner)

Q: Did it go just as you planned?

A: Well my training went well.

Q: Were you nervous?

A: Yes, I was. My corner told me to move around and then I was able to focus.

Q: What did you think of your opponent?

A: Well I was told that training to deflect his kicks won't get me anywhere and will just lead to a loss, so I focused on avoiding those kicks. I worked on my punching game. Actually all my training was put to use.

Q: You had a dominant win against a K-1 fighter. Do you think that other K-1 fighters will challenge you to a match?

A: But I won't accept their offers [because I want to fight MMA fighters].

Q: You made some interesting comments in the ring. Was that a challenge to other MMA fighters?

A: Yes, well I hope to make DREAM an exciting event and I hope to win the DREAM belt.

Kyshenko vs Sato

Yoshihiro Sato

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I took some heavy punches. He's a tough opponent and has a heavy punch. All his attacks lead to his punches. His kicks, on the other hand, weren't that strong.

Q: Do you think your chances for a match with Masato have been reduced?

A: I just have to win my way through the tournament. I'm really upset about tonight's loss.

Q: Your plan for next year?

A: I've fought the world's best all year and it's been a good experience. I'll just have to take that experience and use it to get a win in next year's tournament.

Q: According to Kyshenko, you owe him a drink?

A: Sure. Even though I lost, I don't have any negative feelings about Kyshenko. In the ring, I'm really fighting against myself.

Artur Kyshenko (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I'm really pleased with the fight. Sato is a strong fighter, but the better fighter won.

Q: And what do you think of your opponent?

A: First of all, he takes too many punches. His main problem was he let me dictate the fight. I expected him to use more kicks, but he was trying to match my punching game. I've always respected Sato. As fighters I think we are very much alike. I respect him even more after this fight.

(Sato comes in and offers Kyshenko a green tea)

Kyshenko: You owe me a drink of vodka together.

Sato: I can't drink alcohol after a fight for at least a week.

Kyshenko: If you drink the real Russian stuff, you can become strong like me.

Sato (jokingly): I don't want to be like you.

(Sato leaves)

DREAM Rules Bouts

Minowaman vs Zimmerman

MINOWAMAN (Winner)

Q: How was the fight?

A: I've been able to come to Dynamite for several years now, but it's been three years since I've been able to bring home a win on New Year's. I'm happy to finally have a Happy New Year's and I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck with me over these tough few years, especially the fans.

Q: And what do you think of your opponent?

A: Well he's a scary guy and I have to admit that I've never been this nervous coming to a fight. He's a top-level kicker and I felt the force of every attack. It was a learning experience.

Q: What's your goal for the new year?

A: I want to reinvent myself and show the world a new Minowaman with greater self-control.

Q: What do you mean by self control?

A: There are several aspects that I have yet to discover about myself. Physically and mentally. I want to have a more complete control of all the facets that make up Minowaman.

Errol Zimmerman

Q: How was the match?

A: I did my best. It was my first time doing MMA. I was able to give him a good punch to the head. He was close to being KO'ed. I only trained one week for this match, but I'll try harder next time for more MMA matches.

Q: How was your first "ground and pound"?

A: The hit I gave him to the head felt good. I know he felt it since he was dazed. In my defense I broke my foot in April in Amsterdam and that's why I tapped out. I'd like to fight MMA again, though. Minowaman is a good MMA fighter and I learned a lot from this fight. I'll study with Alistair [Overeem] and learn more about MMA and come back for a rematch.

Q: Minowan mentioned that your "glare" scared the hell out of him.

A: Yeah, that's just my game face. I scare people.

Q: How was the match?

A: I did my best. It was my first time doing MMA. I was able to give him a good punch to the head. He was close to being KO'ed. I only trained one week for this match, but I'll try harder next time for more MMA matches.

Q: How was your first "ground and pound"?

A: The hit I gave him to the head felt good. I know he felt it since he was dazed. In my defense I broke my foot in April in Amsterdam and that's why I tapped out. I'd like to fight MMA again, though. Minowaman is a good MMA fighter and I learned a lot from this fight. I'll study with Alistair [Overeem] and learn more about MMA and come back for a rematch.

Q: Minowan mentioned that your "glare" scared the hell out of him.

A: Yeah, that's just my game face. I scare people.

Nakamura vs Tokoro

Hideo Tokoro

Q: How is your arm?

[Trainer]: His forearm is broken. He needs to have X-rays and then we'll know how extensive the damage is.

Q: Why were you trying so hard to get an arm lock on your opponent?

A: Well I was focused on it. I just felt that that was how I wanted to win.

Q: Nakamura said that he'd like to fight you again. Your thoughts?

A: I would like that. If we could meet up when we've both become even stronger fighters that would be even better.

Daisuke Nakamura (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I was really glad that Tokoro took this fight and I'm glad I could fight in front of everyone at this big event. I regret the event was so short. I wish we could have enjoyed each other's technique more. Of course, that's something that's easy to say after you've won.

Q: You beat Tokoro with an armlock, which is one of his signature moves.

A: He wins with it often so I was worried about it. That's his thing, so turning it around on him was great.

Q: After defeating Tokoro in the ring, has your impression of him changed?

A: Not at all. I'd like to fight him several times. I hear there'll be a feather weight tournament next year and I hope he does well.

Q: You almost had him early on.

A: But he's exceptional. He wiggled out of it. Actually it made the match that much more exciting.

Ologun vs Sakaguchi

Yukio Sakaguchi (with bandaged torso)

Q: How's your condition?

A: Well my ribs are broken. It happened when I took a knee. Other than that I'm fine.

Q: Thoughts about your opponent?

A: He has a long reach and I was wary of that. I also felt he was looking for a counter so I was careful about my attacks.

Q: Your plans from now?

A: Well, the word retirement has been thrown around a lot. Even by me. I was putting pressure on myself to fight my best. Actually, I'm not even entertaining the thought. It might take me a while, but I'll have to go back to the basics and work my way up again. I still have things I want to accomplish in MMA and PANCRASE as well. This isn't the end for me. I'll be back.

Andy Ologun (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I'm glad I won and I'm glad that my opponent took the fight.

Q: You said earlier that you didn't practice much for this fight.

A: I meant that I didn't change my training style to fit this opponent. I'm a budoka [martial artist] and so I'm always training. I said at the press conference that I was going to come out fighting and I meant it.

Q: Your brother Bobby [popular TV personality] couldn't make it to the fight to cheer you on?

A: Well I wasn't able to get a hold of him to give him the tickets. He lives nearby and came by bicycle. After he couldn't get in, he just rode back home. Adogony, who was in my corner, was able to reach him and tell him the good news that I won. Tonight I'm going to stop by and get my belated Christmas present which probably has something to do with Gundam [animation show], which I like.

Q: Plans for next year?

A: Nothing yet. I'll think about next year after a good rest. There's no need to rush.

Sapp vs Mantaro

Bob Sapp (Winner)

Bob: I'd first like to say that today's match was about endurance. I wanted everyone to see the New Beast and show that I have the endurance it takes to be one of the dominant fighters in 2009.

Q: You've been active in wrestling recently. Does tonight's fight show a new commitment to fighting?

A: Well, as you can tell I've lost 15-20 kilos. I think that shows that I'm very serious about fighting. I've just turned 34 and you never know when a fighting career will suddenly end. I'm still the Beast with the laugh and everything but I'm backing up 'the talk' with 'the punch.'.

Q: Thoughts on your opponent, who has an extensive wrestling background?

A: For a wrestler, he did well but he made a few mistakes coming out. Just being able to bring your opponent to the canvas doesn't give you the win. You've got to finish it or it means nothing. I took a different tack and played it cool. I concentrated on watching where the punches were coming from.

Q: What was it like facing a cartoon character?

A: Well, today my opponent had to face reality which is every cartoon's worst nightmare!

Q: What was it like working with DJ Ozma [musician and producer of this match]?

A: I think the ratings will show that together we put together a really good match. I'm sure we beat out all the other top entertainments on TV tonight.

Kinniku Mantaro did not field questions

Schilt vs Mo

Semmy Schilt (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts on the fight?

A: I had a good fight. I expected more stand-up.

Q: The crowd really cheered you on before and after the fight. How did that feel?

A: The media likes to say that I have no fans and that I don't fight for the fans, but it's not true. I always fight for my fans and as you can see, they were there for me tonight.

Q: Did you expect to win the way you did?

A: I wanted to win with a KO, but I used what I know. I trained to be on the defensive, but it happened that I had my opponent on the defensive the whole time.

Q: Do you think you'll fight more MMA next year?

A: It's possible, but for me to fight in MMA to my satisfaction, I need even more training.

Q: Goals for next year?

A: To qualify for the top eight and be in next year's K-1 final.

Mighty Mo

Q: Your thoughts on the fight?

A: I could have done a lot better.

Q: Did you expect that kind of finish?

A: I should have known better and should have trained harder for a guy that big and strong. This is my first 10-minute round fight and condition-wise, when you run out of gas, it's hard to concentrate. I wish I would have had more time to train.

Sakurai vs Shibata

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Shibata is a strong fighter, He knew what was coming and was very clever in his defense. It just wasn't enough.

Q: What was it like when Shibata had you on the ground?

A: Well, when he took the mount position and I got blasted in the face I started bleeding and couldn't see. I knew that if we were stood up that the fight would probably be stopped. I had to just go full force and keep on the offense. In the end, I think that his strategy was actually the better one.

Q: What are you plans for 2009?

A: Well, I'm always happy when the fans shell out good money to come see me fight and I want to make sure that next year is even more exciting. There'll be a tournament as well so it should be a really great year for DREAM.

Katsuyori Shibata

I didn't do very well this year and I'm not happy about that, but I'll take that frustation and use it to fuel a better run next year. (made this brief comment and then left, pro-wrestler style)

CroCop vs Choi

Mirko CroCop (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I was hoping to catch him with a high kick if I could, but the main idea was to confuse him so he wouldn't know when to expect a low kick.

Q: How's your condition?

A: I feel good. Without injury. Except for the injury that I brought into the fight. The doctor said that I'll have to have surgery on my leg, but I wanted to fight in September and tonight at any cost so I postponed it. It was tough. I had to go right to physical therapy after the last fight, but this is my job. I don't want to disappoint the fans.

Cornerman: He was in bad shape, walking around with a cane. But he knew what a big fight this was, so he really wanted to be in the New Year's show. His doctor is a famous doctor who has taken care of many famous athletes and the doctor has said that he has 100% chance of a full recovery.

Q: When do you think you'll be back?

A: I want to come back completely recovered where I'm not worried about my legs. (CroCop returned to the locker room to ice his legs)

Cornerman: The doctor said that CroCop is in good shape and that has allowed him to come this far. The doctor expects recovery to take from six to nine months. CroCop wants to fight as early as July, but I think it's too early. It will probably be next New Year's that he has his next fight. He's upset about all the K-1 fighters losing their fights tonight and feels that he'd like to fight against DREAM fighters as a K-1 fighter.

Q: Which leg is it that will be operated on?

Cornerman: The doctor told us not to reveal that. Even though he expects a full recovery, he knows that other fighters will focus on that particular leg if it is revealed.

Hong-Man Choi

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Recently my condition hasn't been very good so I don't really have much to say about my performance tonight except that I will do better next year.

Q: How's your condition? You took a pretty heavy low kick.

A: At the moment of impact it did hurt quite a bit and that's why I buckled. It hurt for a little while, but not so much right now.

Manhoef vs Hunt

Melvin Manhoef (Winner)

Q: What are your thought about the fight?

A: I can't really believe it but I did it. I'm glad it happened the way it did. It's nice to KO Mark because he's a former K-1 champion and he's 40 kilos heavier.

Q: It was a sudden decision for you to fight, did you have any time to create a strategy?

A: Well, we weren't planning to have a fight so I wasn't training as hard as I could have, but my trainers noticed his weak spot, that he was always dropping his left, so that's what I aimed for.

Mark Hunt

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I got caught and lost the fight.

Q: Did the fact that your opponent was changed right before the fight affect your mental state coming into the fight?

A: Not really. I just got caught.

Q: Did you see that right coming? It looked like you walked right into it.

A: Actually I only rememebr that one second I was in the ring, and the next I was back in the changing room!

Aoki vs Alvarez

Shinya Aoki (Winner)

(Entering) I'm in a good mood so let's get this thing going!

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: My opponent was scary and tough. I thought I would be killed. But then I thought if I'm gonna get killed anyway, I might as well give it my all.

Q: Many consider Alvarez the top fighter in your class. Do you think that now you are number one? Or do you feel you are?

A: I think B.J. Penn is the best fighter in the world. As a fighter [not a DREAM fighter], I really respect B.J. Penn and I'd like to fight him. I felt that I showed the world what Japanese fighting should be.

Q: You and your peers tend to go for leg locks against foreign opponents. Do you think they lack proper leg defense?

A: We are focused on MMA-style grappling. I was trying for an outside to inside heel hold. I learned that if you change an outside heel hold to an inside heel hold it makes it so much easier to get the hold.

Q: Why did you choose the entrance song "Baka Survivor"?

A: I just wanted to have some fun.

Q: It was reported that you went to Thailand to learn neck wrestling, but you didn't use it at all. Will you do more of this kind of training?

A: I'm a grappler, but I like kickboxing. Kickboxing attacks are a big part of my MMA techinique.

Q: BJP vs. GSP. Who wins?

A: B.J. Penn has a lot of technique and George St. Pierre's wrestling is also very high-level. I would really like to see what happens.

Q: Your goal for next year?

A: As a fighter, I'm setting my sights on fighting the world's best. It's not that I want to fight in UFC. Not at all. I just want to fight against B.J. Penn. Everyone says they want to fight against B.J. Penn, but no fighter in Japan wants to fight him more than me.

Eddie Alvarez was at a local hospital and so unavailable for interview. His condition is unknown at this time.

Tamara vs Sakuraba

Kiyoshi Tamura (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Looking at the whole fight, I don't think the fans could enjoy the fight, but for me personally it was a good fight. We both weren't able to end the fight with a decisive victory. I hope we can meet up again.

Q: Do you think this fight would have gone differently five or ten years ago?

A: I'm not sure how to answer that.

Q: Were you surprised that Sakuraba went for a jiu-jutsu strategy instead of a punching game?

A: He's really good at taking a position. It's not really jiu-jitsu, but controlling the center of gravity of your opponent. I had to work within that and tried to get in as much damage as possible. He's really good at controlling his opponent so I was focused on not being in the bottom position.

Q: What were you feeling during the fight?

A: Before the fight I had several different feelings. I thought about all the different ways it could go and through the media we both talked about what kind of fight we'd like to have. But when it came to fight night all I felt was that it was do or die. My second, Tajima, said something which I can't repeat, but it gave me strength to fight.

Q: And what did you think about the finish?

A: I wish I could have relaxed more.

Q: Relaxed more?

A: I was quite stiff in my approach to the fight. Because I was the main event I felt pressure to have a really great fight. That pressure caused me to stiffen up.

Q: You've fought him before. Why do you think the fight went the distance this time?

A: The past is the past. What happened happened.

Q: You controlled the entire match except for when you were in the bottom position. What were you thinking when that happened?

A: I wasn't really worried at that time. I was listening to my corner. They had my back.

Kazushi Sakuraba

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I'd like to have done much more. If I'm going to lose, I'd rather have to tap out or be knocked out like with the Manhoef fight.

Q: Between the first and second round you were on the mat for a long while. Were you tired or was that just being dramatic?

A: I took a lot of punishment from Tamura. I was just tired (laughs).

Q: Were you surprised that you were getting hit so hard on the ground.

A: That is what the fight is about. Don't expect any deeper answer from me than that.

Q: How's your condition?

A: (Matter of factly) It's fine.

Q: Has your opinion of Tamura changed after this fight?

A: Nope.

Q: You said that your horoscope isn't good for 2009. Are you worried?

A: Well the last few fights weren't that great so I hope to train hard and have even better fights next year.

K-1 Koshien Bouts

HIROYA (K-1 Koshien Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I'm glad I won, but there are a lot of things I would have changed about how I fought.

Q: How do you feel about last year's champion, Yuya?

A: Even though I won the tournament, I regret that I couldn't have a rematch against Yuya. It would have been a much more meaningful victory if I could have defeated him as well.

Q: How did you feel coming in to the extra round?

A: Well, the same thing happened last year and I knew I'd have to try harder in the extra round or I wouldn't have learned anything from last year's loss.

Q: What do you think about the other Koshien fighters?

A: My opponents were tough. I couldn't knock them down. If I could only do like I do in training I should have done much better.

Q: Your plans for next year?

A: I'll take a rest and then go right back to training. I'm able to relax and use all my training in my muay thai fights, but for some reason, my rhythm gets messed up when I fight K-1. It's something I'll have to work on. I hope to fight even stronger fighters in the future.

Koya Urabe

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I'm just glad it's over. It was an exhilerating experience. I thought I had the first two rounds, but I felt I was in trouble in the last round. Coming up against Hiroya, I could feel that he had a lot more experience.

Q: What did you think about going into the extra round?

A: I was a bit surprised that it was a draw. I just tried to keep going with a similar strategy as before.

Q: Now that the K-1 Koshien is over, what are your impressions?

A: This really was a great experience. I feel like my life has turned around 180 degrees.

Q: Your plans for next year?

A: I'd like to get more experience and have more fights.

Q: Did you brother say anything to you about the fight?

A: My brother was supportive, but he saw a lot of flaws that I'll need to work on.

Ryuya Kusakabe

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: I just couldn't move like I wanted to. My condition was good leading up to the fight, but once I got into the ring, I tightened up. Next year I'll practice three times as hard and become champion.

Shota Shimada

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Hiroya is really strong. Especially his punches. His experience really showed through.

Q: What was your plan of attack?

A: I was going to use more leg techniques, but once I got in the ring, I got caught up in the fight and my plan went out the window.

Q: Would you like a rematch?

A: I'd like to work on my punch game, get more experience and come back even stronger.

Sadaharu Tanikawa, (K-1 Event Producer)

It's been a tough year for fighting sports. But we've had some really good fights in the DREAM, MAX, K-1, and Dynamite events. We've taken a big step toward bringing the seat of martial arts events back to Japan. With K-1 and PRIDE together, we can build the best martial arts event in the world.

Q: What are you going to do about UFC, which is doing very well in the U.S.?

A: We still feel that our events are the best in the world. We want to continue to create the best events and continue to raise the best fighters. We're also going to get more fans into the arenas and use the money to buy UFC (laughing).

Q: What do you think about the K-1 fighters' losses tonight?

A: Well I expected that Kawajiri and Mousasi had good chances to win, but Badr Hari's loss was a surprise. But surprises are what makes an event exciting. I think you'll find that the fighters that showed the most bravery and strength are the ones who won.

Q: There were rumors of a joint event with Sengoku.

A: We did plan something, but our objectives were different so nothing came of it.

Q: What was the best bout of the night in your opinion?

A: The whole event was pretty good including the K-1 Koshien as well. If I had to pick one, I'd say the Aoki vs. Alvarez fight. I thought Aoki would have a much tougher time. I didn't realize he was such a strong fighter.

Keiichi Sasahara (DREAM Event Producer)

2008 is coming to a close, and DREAM's first year has been a tough one. But all the hard work that everyone's put into DREAM has come to fruition in some excellent bouts tonight. Even there were some last-minute changes, the fighters did a bang-up job and I'm thankful for that. I'm sure that the fans who came tonight will be back next year. We'll have tournaments for both the feather and welter weights along with heavy and light-heavy title matches.

Q: What's Joachim Hansen's condition?

A: We'll have to see tomorrow. If he's okay to fly home tomorrow, I want to get him there as soon as possible. He was in no position to fight according to the doctor and our fighter's safety is our prime concern.

Q: Women's MMA is getting popular in the States. Would you consider having women in DREAM?

A: Not thinking about in DREAM right now. There are events for women fighters and I'd like to leave that to them.

Q: Any word on Alvarez' condition?

A: No problem with broken bones, but there might be some internal injuries.

Q: You mentioned in the press conference that you wanted to reestablish Japan as the center of the martial arts universe.

A: Yes, and I think we are on the way to doing that. Tonight's event was just one step, but building a succesful series is not by just having one good event but by having increasingly good events. That's what we'll be focusing on next year.

From

[Shogun90]

awesome, thanks for posting these. wow dude it sucks that Mirko might be out for the year, this pretty much kills the return to the UFC in 2009 rumor and besides i dont think going back to the UFC is in his mind right now. i'm really impressed with Overeem, he'll probably get a fight with Fedor in 2009.

[broncofan]

Alistair Overeem (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Badr Hari challenged me and we agreed to two fights: one with K-1 rules and one with MMA. This was the K-1 fight.

Q: Your thoughts about your opponent?

A: He's a great athlete, but he has no respect. No respect for fighters, for other people, and especially for DREAM fighters. I think that's not good. That's why I don't like him.

Overeem will smash Hari again in mma and anyone hear what happened to Hansen?

[NWOWolfpack]

Thanks Tuco................I agree with Mousasi that he should stick to mma

and CC not fighting till next NYE? The rematch with Alistair will never happen................

[tuco]

Alistair Overeem (Winner)

Q: Your thoughts about the fight?

A: Badr Hari challenged me and we agreed to two fights: one with K-1 rules and one with MMA. This was the K-1 fight.

Q: Your thoughts about your opponent?

A: He's a great athlete, but he has no respect. No respect for fighters, for other people, and especially for DREAM fighters. I think that's not good. That's why I don't like him.

Overeem will smash Hari again in mma and anyone hear what happened to Hansen?

It was announced before the Dynamite event that DREAM Lightweight GP 2008 Champion Joachim Hansen did not clear his pre-event medical checkup due ill effects from a previously-suffered concussion

[broncofan]

^^ So I am guessing it was in training