dream 15

Cavalcante rediscovers winning ways at Dream 15

Gesias Cavalcante got back on the winning track at Katsunori Kikuno's expense.

Two of three judges favored Cavalcante (15-3-1) over Kikuno (13-2-2) today at Dream 15 in Saitama, Japan. Cavalcante recorded his first victory since September 2007.

Cavalcante hadn't fought for more than 13 months after a loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri in May of last year. For the first several minutes he appeared to hesitate against Kikuno's mixture of strikes from Kyokushin karate, an unusual style in mixed martial arts.

But Cavalcante took down Kikuno multiple times in the opening round, and he spent most of the second stanza smothering Kikuno on the mat. Cavalcante took his back in the last two-and-a-half minutes and stayed there almost until the end, although Kikuno regained his feet just before the bell.

Kikuno has lost two of his last three fights, with the defeats coming against men with the wrestling and grappling to bring him to the mat and avoid his karate attack.

Today's result marks a strong return for Cavalcante after suffering through injuries over the last two years. He had a wrap around one of his knees for today's bout.