Dream 8 Breakdown

Andrews Nakahara vs. Shungo Oyama

The Storyline: Young Brazilian karateka Nakahara (1-1) won a fight he was not expected to win against Dong Sik Yoon in September. Dream ran with the unexpected outcome and booked him in a match with Oyama (7-11), another judoka. The journeyman, who turns 35 later this month, has a history of taking on Brazilian fighters; he has battled Wanderlei Silva, Wallid Ismael and several members of the Gracie family, with which he had a hot feud in 2002.

The Breakdown: Despite fighting less stellar competition since his exit from Pride in 2004, Oyama only managed a 5-5 record for Rumble on the Rock, Hero’s and Dream. His most impressive display in recent memory was a close split decision victory over Rodrigo Gracie in 2006. His strategy against strikers has rested on leg submissions. Sometimes they have worked; sometimes they have not.

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The Prediction: Expect Nakahara, the fresher and more ambitious of the two, to continue his successful trend and stop Oyama with strikes late in the first round.