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By Michael David Smith
Dec 31st 2011 1:00AM
MMA Fighting has Fedor vs. Ishii results for the Dream New Year's Eve fight card at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The event, headlined by a fight between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii, is titled "Genki Desu Ka!!" and is this year's version of Dynamite!!. The 17-fight lineup will have MMA, boxing and even pro wrestling matches.

Check out the full results below.
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By Michael David Smith
Dec 30th 2011 7:00AM
Will Fedor Emelianenko continue his winning ways on New Year's Eve in Japan? Or will Satoshi Ishii take an enormous step forward in his MMA career with a huge upset? Will Japanese stars Shinya Aoki, Hiroyuki Takaya and Tatsuya Kawajiri put on impressive performances? Will American fans manage to stay awake after UFC 141 and watch several more hours of fighting into the wee hours of Saturday morning?

We'll attempt to answer those questions and more as we predict the winners of this year's New Year's Eve event in Japan below.
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By Ray Hui
Dec 20th 2011 9:54AM
Before Josh Barnett takes on Daniel Cormier tentatively in March for the Strikeforce GP title, the former UFC champ will take part in a pro wrestling match on the New Year's Eve "Genki Desu Ka!!" card in Japan.

On Tuesday, promoters announced that Barnett will face Hideki Suzuki in the IGF pro wrestling portion of the card. Also added Tuesday is a pair of kickboxing bouts. Yuta Kubo will take on Nils Widlund, while Masaaki Noiri meets Kengo Sonoda.
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By Ray Hui
Dec 19th 2011 9:55AM
Kazushi Sakuraba is set to participate on the New Year's Eve "Genki Desu Ka!!" card in Saitama, Japan -- as a pro wrestler.

Sakuraba, who made a name for himself in the mid-to-late 90s as a pro wrestler shortly before becoming a Japanese MMA superstar under the PRIDE banner, will partner with Laughter7 teammate Katsuyori Shibata against Shinichi Suzukawa and Atsushi Sawada in a tag team pro wrestling match.
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By Ray Hui
Dec 5th 2011 9:56AM
Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima, who knocked out Shinya Aoki last New Year's Eve in a kickboxing/MMA fight, will fight again under the mixed rules format on Dec. 31 at "Genki Desu Ka!!" taking place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Nagashima, a K-1 MAX fighter known for engaging in school girl cosplay, has been booked to face former DEEP lightweight champion and DREAM veteran Katsunori Kikuno. In this special attraction, one round will be under K-1 kickboxing rules and the other under DREAM mixed martial arts rules.

Nagashima, who fought MMA in 2005-2006 before making the jump full-time to K-1 in 2007, recently made clear his interest in returning to MMA. Following a UFC 137 pre-fight press conference in October, Nagashima introduced himself to UFC president Dana White and asked for an opportunity inside the UFC cage.
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By Ray Hui
Nov 29th 2011 12:16PM
A lightweight title bout between Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka and a bantamweight reserve bout between Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev are recent additions to the New Year's Eve "Genki Desu Ka!!" event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

DREAM last weekend made official that Aoki will be defending his DREAM belt against former teammate Kitaoka in a five-round affair. On Tuesday, Tokoro and Saadulaev, who were both ousted in quarterfinal bouts in September, were given a second chance at returning to the tournament. The reserve winner could potentially enter the finals in the event an injury replacement is needed.
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By Michael David Smith
Nov 28th 2011 10:25AM
Several UFC fighters met the media in Japan over the weekend to promote the Feb. 26 UFC 144 show at the Saitama Super Arena, and one of the big questions facing the promotion is whether it can engage Japanese fans who have largely turned away from combat sports in recent years.

One of the Japanese fighters on the show, Yushin Okami, thinks there is no question that the UFC will deliver just the kind of product that Japanese fans want.

"It's been a while since I've fought in Japan, so I'm excited. I would love to bring the heat and atmosphere of the real UFC over to Japan," Okami said at the UFC's press conference.
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By Mike Chiappetta
Nov 28th 2011 3:22AM
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is very, very excited to to fight in Japan. All you have to do is ask him.

In a Monday morning press conference in the Land of the Rising Sun, Jackson told the Japanese media that it took some effort on his part to ensure his place on the UFC 144 card, and that he finally had his request granted after a non-stop, one-man campaign.

"I had to fight and complain and b---- to my manager," he said. "Now I think the representatives of UFC are upset with me a little bit ... But ask me, do I care?"
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By Ray Hui
Nov 18th 2011 9:00AM
To close out DREAM's World Bantamweight Grand Prix, Bibiano Fernandes will face Antonio Banuelos, while Masakazu Imanari will fight Rodolfo Marques on the Dec. 31 "Genki Desu Ka!!" (How are you?) card in Saitama, Japan.

Fernandes, Baneulos, Imanari and Marques were all victorious in opening round bouts at DREAM.17 in September to advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals will meet the same night on Dec. 31 to determine the Grand Prix champion.
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