Back in November 2011,
I wrote about MMA hype in Asia growing to a crescendo. DREAM confirmed a New Years Eve show under sponsors FeILDS and IGF and started releasing fights on the card. As if in an effort to try and trump the Japanese promotion, the UFC confirmed a return to Japan in February and released its own card, stacked with almost every Asian on the promotion's roster.
ONE FC finally announced its schedule of events in Southeast Asia for 2012, and then dropped a bomb to counter the UFC news:
a fighter-sharing agreement and a co-sponsored promotion in Singapore with DREAM.
The fight cards on both promotions seemed to read like a who's-who of JMMA. Both positive and negative assessments were made regarding both cards (
I wrote an analysis of the UFC's here). When faced with the decision of traveling to Japan to see which fight, for me, DREAM totally captivated my interest. The previews they produced for the bantam-, feather- and lightweight matches had me on the edge of my seat screaming at the computer, my neighbors banging on the walls for me to keep it down. And then came the final cog in the machine that set my DREAM trip into motion:
I got on the internet and bought my ticket before
Evolve MMA's head honcho would realize his mistake ("Oh, that's not
MMA Japan ") and rescind the invitation!
And now, PART 1 - Before the Fight! PART 2: Fight Day will be posted in a few days.
Please allow me the guilty pleasure of slipping into fan mode for the remainder of this article. This event was just too exciting for me personally to be able to share it in a purely informational context. There may be moments of clarity in which I assess certain things objectively, but for the most part, I was a "full-on MMA fanatic" for the entire course of events.
Arrival to Tokyo.
On December 29th, I awoke at the hellish hour of 5am in order to make an 8am flight. I am NOT one of those people who do the morning session on the mats and then post pictures of it on Facebook to make everyone else feel inadequate. As I checked in and was handed my boarding pass, the nice USA Delta agent politely informed me that my flight was delayed. Okay, no problem, how long? Seven hours delay. Okay, problem. I went back home (and yes, back to sleep), and began to feel sorry for myself. I'd asked Chatri if I could have the chance to watch
Shinya Aoki's final workout before the fight, and he'd given me the time and place -
Shinya's DEEP Impact official DREAM gym! Epic stuff goes on at that gym. If I had made the 8am flight, I would have been able to make the last session. Later, my disappointment was compounded when friends told me that
Bibiano,
Chonan and a few other fighters were also on hand. Woe was me!
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| Courtesy Orono |
Chatri took pity on me and invited me for drinks once I finally arrived in Tokyo - at 10:30pm. I made my way to the swank top-floor bar of the Peninsula Hotel in Ginza, only to find him camped out like a boss in the adjacent restaurant (which was closed and vacant) along with two of his coaches from Evolve,
Orono and
Namsaknoi, and
Matt Hume. If Chatri wants a table, Chatri gets a table. In reality though, I suppose the bar was full and the staff were accommodating enough to provide for us. It was a beautiful setting, with 180 degree views of Ginza and surrounding Tokyo, and the interior was softly lit with glittering accents mirroring the city lights outside. Here's the table we sat at:
