Preview: Dream 7

Atsushi Yamamoto vs. Masakazu Imanari

It's hardly the Yamamoto the world would wish for, but it'll have to do until May, when Atsushi's mentor, Norifumi Yamamoto, is back in the saddle and takes his place in this tournament.

While a considerable underdog against MMA's foremost foot fetishist, the lesser known of the Krazy Bee Yamamotos is not terribly out of his depth here. While he is much better suited to the bantamweight division, Yamamoto began his career as a featherweight and is coming off a victory as a featherweight over Hideo Tokoro in September, where the former standout collegiate wrestler showed much improved striking and an overall tightening of his MMA game. In fact, one could certainly make the argument that being a better striker and a better technical wrestler than Imanari, Yamamoto should enjoy some advantages in this bout. Of course, this is why MMA is much more than a simple addition and aggregation of "advantages."

Imanari will never be a fantastic striker or a dominating wrestler. As far as the stand-up goes, he's content to just throw lunging kicks to the midsection of his opponents. In the wrestling department, he's more than happy to fling himself at the legs of his foes. He is perhaps MMA's quintessential wildcard in that he has a chance against any opponent in a reasonable weight range, based on the aggression, precision and mastery of his leglock arsenal. In an era where many fighters have been taught to pay no mind to leglocks because they "never work" and other similar foolishness, Imanari has made routine out of wrecking the feet, ankles, shins and knees of high-level grapplers. In fact, he's the last man to knock off the featherweight division's current ruler, Mike Thomas Brown, with a handy-dandy, nigh-indescribable kneelock in December 2005.

Anyone has a chance against Imanari. They’re almost certain to outstrike him, and when the bout hits the ground, they'll likely be in top position, where they can rain down strikes. It is essentially MMA's version of “The Running Man,” in which victory is yours if you can evade capture for 15 minutes. Yamamoto will land shots standing and will end up on top in this bout. If he can make it until the final horn, he probably wins.

However, it's unlikely that he's going to evade all of Imanari's patented leg attacks. Even if he's able to, he's hardly out of the clear, as Imanari has shown recently in bouts such as against Robbie Olivier that he's more than just a one-trick pony and instead a versatile submission threat. Two upsets in a row for Yamamoto isn't beyond the pale, but it's far more likely he spends the next week with a limp courtesy of the sport's premier podomaniac.