April 29 – The second card produced by DREAM was held in the Saitama Arena. The event was focused on the first round of their Middle-weight Grand Prix, and it offered several different stylistic match ups. More importantly for most fans, it finally gave us a result to the elusive Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias “JZ“ Calvancante fight. Here are the post-fight interviews.

GEGARD MOUSASI:

Q: Did you think the fight would end the way it did?
A: My strategy was to avoid being on the bottom. I wanted to keep the fight on the feet and finish with strikes because I thought the ground was a dangerous position for me. If there's one submission technique I'm good at, it's the triangle choke, and I was lucky and was able to secure the choke for the win.

Q: You are improving quite remarkably. Who would you like to fight in the second round?
A: It's hard to say because they all have different styles. I don't care if my opponent is a top-10 or top-15 fighter. My teammates help me with my judo, jiujitsu, wrestling and many different aspects so I'm always ready. Whether my opponent is a kickboxer or a jiujitsu player, I can fight without any problem.

Q: Who do you think would pose the biggest challenge to you?
A: It's my understanding that the matchups for the next round have already been determined. I will be fighting Minowaman's opponent (Taiei Kin). Everyone is tough so it's really hard to say. But if I really had to make a choice, I'd like to fight Melvin Manhoef. I want to prove that I'm the best Dutch fighter.

DENNIS KANG:

Q: Give us your thoughts on the fight.
A: I felt good and my conditioning was good as well. I trained with great fighters. But I made a minor technical mistake that eventually led to the loss.

Q: Did you train with the fighters at American Top Team?
A: No. I trained in Vancouver.

Q: Could you tell us why you weren't able to train at American Top Team?
A: It was because of my visa. I'm waiting for it to be issued. I need it because I'm a Canadian citizen.

Q: Mousasi's triangle choke was very quick...
A: I got caught because I threw the punch a little too deep. Guys with long legs like him are very dangerous on the ground.

Q: Did you suffer any injuries?
A: Not at all. I told DREAM that I can fight right away. I will train harder and will be back better so that I won't have disappointing performances like today's.

Q: What's next on your schedule?
A: Like I said a moment ago I want to fight as soon as possible. I want to save myself from today's loss. I don't care if it's the May or June event. There are only two weeks left until the May 11 event but that's perfectly fine for me. I'm already in great shape. I want to fight soon and get this loss out of my head.

Q: Would you accept a rematch against Yoshihiro Akiyama?
A: Of course. He's a great athlete and I respect him as a fighter, but I think there has to be a rematch between us.

Q: Mu-Bae Choi will be fighting in Spirit MC. Are you willing to fight him?
A: I doubt I will. I'm already the Heavyweight Champion of Spirit MC. My next opponent should be the winner of the Spirit MC Heavyweight Grand Prix or anyone who beats the Grand Prix Champion.

DONG-SIK YOON:

Q: You won your fourth consecutive fight. How do you feel?
A: Very good.

Q: Did you injure your right foot?
A: I threw a few low kicks but they hurt me more than they hurt him because I hit a bony part of his body.

Q: Do you have any other injuries?
A: None whatsoever.

Q: What was your impression of Oyama?
A: He had great balance on the ground. And he seemed to have a very gentleman-like character that perhaps comes from his judo background.

Q: It was a battle between two judokas. Give us your thoughts.
A: I was planning on striking with him because I thought it'd be a boring fight due to the style matchup but I found myself instinctively fighting on the ground soon after I entered the ring.

Q: How do you plan to prepare for the second round?
A: All of my wins were on the ground. I was upset to hear that my fights were boring. I'd like to win via strikes in my next fight.

Q: You mentioned striking several times. Do you have any plans to invite any striking coaches to your team?
A: Our training used to consist of 30% striking and 70% groundwork, but now it's 50:50. We don't have a striking coach right now but a lot of fighters from other teams come to our team to train with us. So now we have more sparring partners and have a more diverse pool of fighters. I'm trying to incorporate striking more because I think the team has become more and more grappling-oriented due to my influence.

Q: You've been quite close friends with Kazushi Sakuraba for some time. Do you have any plans of organizing training camps for both teams?
A: Founding our own teams doesn't necessarily mean that we've split. He still feels like a brother to me. He's like an older brother and at the same time a teacher. I'm close to his teammates as well. I still talk to them often and visit their locker room before their fights. I couldn't talk to him in today's event because of several circumstances but I'm planning on calling him after the show's over.

I'd like to say one more thing. I'd like to thank Sakuraba and Bu-Kyung Jung, Dae-Won Kim, Jong-Won Kim, and trainer Hong Park of Team Yoon.

ZELG GALESIC:

Q: Is this the first submission win of your career?
A: No, but it's my first win in Japan. I'm really happy. I expected a striking war but the fight ended up on the ground because my opponent took me down. Like I promised after losing to Dong-Sik Yoon, I worked on my ground game and was able to win via armbar.

Q: Dong-Sik Yoon had an interview right before you and he seemed surprised that you won by armbar.
A: Dong-Sik Yoon is my teacher. He really beat me in a humiliating fashion in the last fight. I couldn't sleep well for about 10 days after the loss and would wake up during my sleep and wonder how I should train. But it was a great learning experience.

Q: You must have been busy since a lot of your teammates had fights recently.
A: I trained for my fight 6 to 8 hours a day and trained other people for the remainder of the day. I'm literally living in the gym now. It's not hard because it's always been this way. Training other people helps me a lot too.

Q: Are you still training at Team Trojan?
A: There is a Team Trojan in the UK and in Croatia. We work as a team so if someone needs me or if I need somebody to help me we go back and forth to help out. The UK and Croatia are only an hour and a half away by plane so it's not too far.

RONALDO "JACARE" SOUZA:

Q: Your flying knee was impressive. Was it a part of your strategy?
A: I'm a jiujitsu player but I train in striking too. It wasn't really part of any strategy. It's just something I tried as the fight flowed.

Q: How did it feel to be in the ring of the DREAM organization?
A: It felt like I belonged there. It was my dream to fight in a ring like this.

Q: Was the transition from a jiujitsu player to a mixed martial artist natural? Did you have any difficulty?
A: It was natural. You have to train in not only striking but boxing, wrestling, and everything. It wasn't hard.

Q: You were supposed to fight Frank Trigg but the fight didn't materialize. How do you think the fight would have gone if you had fought Trigg?
A: I've signed a contract with DREAM and am ready to fight anybody. The only thing I can do is to do my best in the ring.

Q: Who would you like to fight in the second round?
A: I'm a DREAM fighter. It doesn't matter who I fight. I think Kazushi Sakuraba is one of the best. But the other fighters are well-versed in jiujitsu as well.

Q: You trained with Randy Couture. Did it help you a lot?
A: Training with Randy Couture helped me a lot. ADCC champion Rani Yahya and UFC fighter Tyson Griffin also trains at the gym. I train with Griffin too.

Q: You said it was your dream to fight in a ring like the one here. What's your next dream?
A: Winning the Grand Prix.

Q: Who do you think would pose the toughest challenge to you?
A: Everyone in the tournament is tough but if I had to pick one, it'd be Denis Kang. I think Denis Kang would be the most difficult opponent for me.

SHINYA AOKI:

AOKI: The idea was to finish the last fight with a smile but it ended with a result that I couldn't understand. It has been a very displeasing few weeks but I'm here with a smile on my face thanks to all the staff and my teammates here. I'm really grateful to them. I'm a very happy man now. The fight was fun. His punches were very hard. It was fun, and at the same time I was curious how it would turn out.

Q: What was your strategy?
A: My strategy was to strictly make it a grappling match. I was confident that I could win if I could bring him into my guard because I believe my guard is the best in the world.

Q: Did the fight go as expected?
A: It went as expected. He threw punches and followed up with takedowns and ground-and-pound. He was probably looking to soften me up with punches and put me to sleep. But like I saw it, my strategy worked.

Q: Who do you think would be the most difficult opponent for you in the tournament?
A: It's hard for me to answer because I just finished this fight. I really can't think about anything right now.

Q: You went for a leglock in the first round. How did it feel?
A: It felt pretty deep. It was his injured leg so I thought I could finish the fight with the leglock, but it felt as though he gave up the leg. I heard his leg pop as I tightened the hold. I think he was able to pound me with punches because he gave up his leg and escaped the hold.

Q: Do you think JZ Calvancante didn't try to keep the fight on the feet because of his knee injury?
A: I don't know because I'm not JZ Calvancante, but I think it might be because I proved my striking skills in my last fight against him in March.

Q: Do you stay calm during fights?
A: I keep my composure during my fights. I am a sensible, calm adult. When I ate his punches after going for the leglock, in my head, I was thinking "This is really agonizing. Somebody stop this!"

Q: It looked like you tried continuously to go for a choke in the corner.
A: I went for the choke because I wanted to pay him back. I couldn't sink it in because he trained for it perfectly.

It's been 2 years since I started fighting in MMA for a living and it feels like I'm now starting to show my worth. I've been indebted to Mr. Shigeru Saeki and the staff and I think I was able to return their kindness with this win. If we go out to eat together today, it is going to be on me.

Last year was full of hardships and the company was sold and the staff was put in a miserable situation. There have been a lot of things going on and there was some conflict with working with FEG but I think all of that is settled with this win. I thought to myself that no matter what happens, and no matter how difficult a situation I'm in I'm going to stay strong. Anyway, it was great today. I'm so happy.

KAZUSHI SAKURABA:

Q: How do you feel right now?
A: Tired.

Q: What's your impression of Andrews Nakahara?
A: He had good balance. And he's still young, like 25, I think. I think he'll become a better fighter if he starts training more.

Q: It looked like you had a hard time taking him down.
A: He used the ring effectively. And I think it was also because he was young.

Q: How does it feel to fight at the Saitama Super Arena again?
A: I like how the crowd and the fighters become one. I think it's a great arena because the fighters feel it too.

Q: Tell us your thoughts on the second round.
A: Like I said in the ring, I have nothing to do with the tournament. Please don't talk about it.

Q: According to producer Keiichi Sasahara, there won't be a fight purse if your fight was a non-tournament bout.
A: It doesn't have anything to do with the fight purse. I don't want to fight in tournaments so please don't ask me about it, please. (laughs)

TAIEI KIN:

Q: Tell us your thoughts after the fight.
A: Minowaman was very durable being a pro wrestler like I expected. I definitely felt his pressure when he took me down. So I maintained my composure on the bottom acted accordingly.

Q: It looked like your kicks were effective.
A: The kicks connected to his face, body, and legs. I also connected with a one-two but it was hard to follow up with more punches. I kind of failed to control my weight because I stayed up all night yesterday.

Q: Why couldn't you get any sleep?
A: The thought of him and his entrance made it impossible for me to sleep (laughs). I was able to sleep at 8 in the morning today, and only managed to sleep for 3 hours. I think that might have been why I couldn't be as active as I would have liked.

Q: Who do you want to fight in the second round?
A: I don't know right now. I want to think about it after watching the other fights.

Q: You talked about wanting to enter the K-1 Japan Grand Prix.
A: My training isn't very different for K-1 or MMA. I just have different sparring partners, that's all. If I can't enter the Japan Grand Prix, I'd like to fight in the Asia Grand Prix. Minowaman was superhuman. He was very tough.

Feel free to discuss these interviews here.