Dream.3 Breakdown

Sorry I couldn't get these up yesterday, but here are my picks for Dream 3

Shoji Maruyama vs. Takeshi Yamazaki- This is a pretty good fight for being announced the week before the card takes place. Maruyama is a decent fighter, 6-2-1 record, and Grabaka fighter Yamazaki is better than his 13-7-2 record as those losses include solid fighters in Mike Brown, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Mazakatsu Imanari. This is the classic striker vs. grappler matchup, and in this case I'm going with Maruyama, I think he will punish Yamazaki on the fight and take a convincing decision. Maruyama was able to go to a decision with hot prospect Jose Aldo, and since Aldo was unable to submit him i doubt Yamazaki will be able to.

Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue- Most people would say Nick Diaz by whatever he wants, I tend to agree, I'll go with a TKO in the first round. Katsuya Inoue isn't a bad fighter, he just doesn't perform well when he takes a step up in competition, as he has losses toAkira Kikuchi, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and Eiji Ishikawa. Nick Diaz will simply outclass him.

Jung Bu Kyung vs. Daisuke Nakamura- Finally Jung Bu Kyung is given a break, his 0-2 record includes losses to top ten fighters in Mitsuhiro Ishida and Shinya Aoki. He has showed very good ground skills, especially against Aoki whom he almost armbarred at the Yarenoka show. The Olympic silver medalist will face off against Daisuke Nakamura, a decent fighter but lacking in quality wins. Jung Bu-Kyung will win in the first round by armbar, appeasing his trainer Dong Sik Yoon. Watch out for this Korean judoka, he has some serious skills.

Melvin Manhoef vs. Dae Won Kim- Classic striker vs. grappler, since Manhoef has more MMA experience he should take the fight by brutal KO in the first round. Dae Won Kim did just beat Marcelo Garcia, but Manhoef is a much bigger fighter and he will punish Dae Won Kim in a very short stoppage.

Jason Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata- Shibata is not very good, and Mayhem is. Mayhem by first round submission and better entrance.

Caol Uno vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida- Caol Uno is a good fighter, he has good standup and solid ground skills. However, Ishida is a far better wrestler with good submission defense. Ishida will win a decision as usual in dominant fashion.

Tastuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Firmino- Luis "Buscape" looked good in his last fight against Kazuyuki Miyata, but Kawajiri is a better, more experienced fighter. Although Kawajiri should be able to pound out Buscape, he hasn't looked agressive lately, and so he will take a very solid decision.

Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen- By far the best match up on the card, I really think this fight has potential for fight of the year. Alvarez has good standup, cardio, and wrestling and he looks great since dropping to 155. Hansen is dangerous with powerful knees and good wrestling but he isn't very technical and he mainly relies on his physical presence. That is not going to work for Hansen, he is going to be outsized by Alvarez, who looks very powerful a 155. Alvarez will get his takedowns, the question is if he can stay out of Hansen's submissions, as Hansen has shown slick ground skills and a very good guard. I think he can, I think Alvarez will break into the top ten with a decision win over Hansen.

I believe this card with be live on HD Net at about 3 in the morning. I don't have HD Net, but if you have it try and watch it or tape it or DVR or whatever, these are going to be good fights, especially the Hansen vs. Alvarez fight. I'll be back tomorrow my take on the Cage Rage and Dream cards.