In his first fight since December 2007, Yamamoto dropped a split decision to Greco-Roman wrestling world champion Joe Warren in the American's second pro fight. Warren, who defeated former WEC champion Chase Beebe in his first fight, pushed through Yamamoto’s superior kickboxing, landed hard strikes in the clinch and scored takedowns that allowed him to hold firm top control. Yamamoto failed to threaten with submissions from the bottom, ceding dominant position to Warren for much of the fight.
It was Yamamoto's first true loss in MMA (he lost via cut in 2002), and provided an immediate launching pad for the charismatic Warren, who trains under Dan Henderson at Team Quest and worked with Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in preparing for the fight. A Faber-Yamamoto fight was long considered a 145-pound dream match.
As one of the few significant drawing cards in Japan, Yamamoto was ubiquitous in his promotion of the primetime television broadcast, sharing the spotlight in pre-fight photo ops with the popular WBC flyweight boxing champion Daisuke Naito. Naito defeated Xiong Zhaozhong, of China, in a bout broadcast as a lead-in to the Dream show.
The show scored a 20.4 share rating on Tokyo Broadcasting System, a helpful lead-in to the MMA show. Dream 9 scored a 16.2 share rating, up from a 9.0 from Dream’s last live primetime broadcast offering in September. Yamamoto’s fight drew the highest rating of the evening at 19.1. The numbers were very healthy, and an important statement about the sport’s ability to still attract attention of mainstream Japanese and keep the critical interest of television networks. Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara said the ratings surpassed the promotion’s goal and called it a “huge success.”
Without Yamamoto, around whom the entire featherweight tournament was marketed, it’s unclear what kind of numbers the rest of the field will be able to pull.
In addition to Warren, Hideo Tokoro, Hiroyuki Takaya and Bibiano Fernandes advanced to the next round with wins at Dream 9. Tokoro, coming off three consecutive losses, came out with great energy and submitted Abel Cullum in the second round in night’s best fight. Takaya rose above a first-round deficit by connecting with a looping right hook that crumpled Yoshiro Maeda and led to the TKO. And Fernandes ignored Masakazu Imanari's attempts to coax him into leglocks, instead using sporadic strikes to pick up the unanimous decision in a dull affair.
The event, which drew a reported 15,000 fans to Yokohama Arena, aired on a slight tape delay on HDNet, which moved the show up to same-day broadcast after it was announced former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco would be making his MMA debut on the card.
Canseco, 44, faced 330-pound K-1 veteran Hong Man Choi in a short bout. Canseco came in at 240 pounds, his girlfriend at his side, boots on his feet and a baseball bat over his shoulder. Commentator Michael Schiavello said Canseco, who did little training for the fight and copped to being scared in interviews beforehand, collected a six-figure payday for the appearance.
The former “Bash Brother” threw an overhand right out of the gate that got a rise out of the crowd, and ran for cover throwing karate kicks. He eventually hit the deck after throwing a kick that disrupted his balance. Choi moved in for strikes that quickly led to Canseco tapping after 76 seconds of work. A clip of Canseco covering up and nursing his knee made "Sportscenter."
The bout was part of a four-match first round in the cartoonish "Super Hulk" open-weight tournament. Despite weight differentials as high as 150 pounds, the smaller fighters emerged victorious in three of the four matches via first-round finishes.
Ikuhisa Minowa defeated Bob Sapp by cranking his knee for a swift tap, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou went overboard with strikes in stopping 350-pound Jan Nortje in the first round and Gegard Mousasi made short work of Mark Hunt by taking him to the ground and locking up a keylock for the tap. The next round of the Super Hulk tournament is set for September, with the final on New Year's Eve.
Dream planned to crown a new middleweight champion at the show after Mousasi vacated the title. But a title bout between Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Jason "Mayhem" Miller ended prematurely, as Miller threw an illegal kick when Souza was down, opening a nasty gash in the crown of his head. After a false restart, doctors called off the bout and ruled it a no contest. Miller said the strike was an accident, part of a technique in which he kicks an opponent as he drops to the mat.
The night also featured a lightweight contest with top-10 implications between Tatsuya Kawajiri and Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante. Cavalcante, coming off a year-plus-long layoff due to injury and a cancellation of a Dec. 31 fight, came out aggressive with strikes and a guillotine attempt, but Kawajiri was able to nullify the activity with top control. Kawajiri then began beating Cavalcante to the punch and held control throughout the second round. Kawajiri took the unanimous decision.
The fight set up a challenger for champion Joachim Hansen on Dec. 31. Kawajiri is expected to face retiring K-1 Max superstar Masato on July 13 in a kickboxing fight.