Dream News - Page 1

ProElite and DREAM have entered into a partnership that will see fighter exchanges and possibly co-promoted shows. T. Jay Thompson, the head of fighter operations for ProElite, leaked the news while stopping by Tuesday's installment of The MMA Hour. "We will be partnering with DREAM not only with a fighter exchange program," Thompson told host Ariel Helwani. "But some serious talks about bringing DREAM to the U.S. and bring ProElite to Japan." "With the brain power and relationship between (ProElite matchmaker) Rich Chou and I, we're going to put on high-quality MMA cards," Thompson said. "And the matchmaking styles leads into some of these great Japanese fighters."

Add your comment  

DREAM's ambitious year-end event, "DREAM: New Year! 2011," will air live in its entirety on HDNet. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently confirmed the plans with HDNet officials, who have set aside a nine-hour programming block to air the massive combat sports fight card. Headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Fedor Emelianenko and Satishi Ishii, "DREAM: New Year! 2011" airs in North America at 1 a.m. ET on Saturday morning, Dec. 31 (10 p.m. PT Friday evening, Dec. 30). A few additional bouts are expected to be added to the lineup in the next few days, but the current card includes: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii Ryo Chonan vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai Champ Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka (for lightweight title) Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno (mixed-rules bout) Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue (for featherweight title) Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata Rodolfo Marques Diniz vs. Bibiano Fernandes (bantamweight grand-prix semifinal) Antonio Banuelos vs. Masakazu Imanari (bantamweight grand-prix semifinal) Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev (bantamweight grand-prix reserve match) Karla Benitez vs. Megumi Fujii Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts (pro-wrestling match) Atsushi Sawada and Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuyori Shibata (pro-wrestling match) Josh Barnett vs. Hideki Suzuki (pro-wrestling match) Yuta Kubo vs. Nils Widlund (kickboxing match) Masaaki Noiri vs. Kengo Sonoda (kickboxing match) * A Tim Sylvia vs. Jerome Le Banner Pro Wrestling match has been announced today.

Add your comment  

Fedor Emelianenko (32-4) is returning to Japan. A long-rumored bout between the former PRIDE heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii (4-1-1) is expected to headline a New Year's Eve event in Japan featuring two DREAM title bouts and the completion of the DREAM bantamweight tournament. The full card for "DREAM: Fight for Japan: Genkidesuka!! Oomisoka!! 2011!" includes: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii Champ Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka (for lightweight title) Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue (for featherweight title) Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata Yuichiro Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno (mixed-rules bout) Rodolfo Marques Diniz vs. Bibiano Fernandes (bantamweight grand-prix semifinal) Antonio Banuelos vs. Masakazu Imanari (bantamweight grand-prix semifinal) Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev (bantamweight grand-prix reserve match) Ryo Chonan vs. Hayato Sakurai Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts (pro-wrestling match)

Add your comment  

Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev were eliminated from Dream’s 2011 world bantamweight grand prix in September, but they aren’t out of the tournament picture just yet. Officials from the Japanese promotion Tuesday announced that fan-favorite Tokoro and once-beaten Saadulaev will meet on Dec. 31 in a bantamweight grand prix reserve match. In the event that the winner of one of the evening’s two semifinals -- Antonio Banuelos versus Masakazu Imanari and Bibiano Fernandes versus Rodolfo Marques Diniz -- is unable to continue, the winner of Tokoro-Saadulaev could be slotted into the tourney final. In addition to the bantamweight bouts, the 2011 iteration of Dream’s annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza at Saitama Super Arena will feature a featherweight title fight between champion Hiroyuki Takaya and former Shooto ace “Lion” Takeshi Inoue.

Add your comment  

After Shinya Aoki hinted that his opponent for DREAM's NYE event has already been selected, BloodyElbow.com reached out, and has exclusively confirmed DREAM's plans for their lightweight champion's next challenge. Sources close to the fighter tell us that Aoki's opponent will likely be former Sengoku lightweight champion and grand prix winner, Satoru Kitaoka.

Add your comment  

A trio of bouts has been added to next month's year-end "DREAM: New Year! 2011" event. In a featured bout, Hayato Sakurai (35-12-2 MMA, 4-4 DREAM) takes on fellow welterweight veteran Ryo Chonan (20-12 MMA, 1-0 DREAM). Additionally, the final two rounds of this year's world bantamweight grand prix conclude with Bibiano Fernandes (9-3 MMA, 6-1 DREAM) vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz (14-1 MMA, 1-0 DREAM) and Antonio Banuelos (19-7 MMA, 1-0 DREAM) vs. Masakazu Imanari (24-9-2 MMA, 4-2 DREAM). The event takes place Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the event will air on HDNet. However, it hasn't been decided if it'll air live or via delay.

Add your comment  

DREAM officials today announced two fights for its annual year-end event, dubbed a mouthful as "DREAM: Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011." (For simplicity's sake, we'll call it "DREAM: New Year! 2011.") Official MMA bouts includes DREAM featherweight champ Hiroyuki Takaya (16-9-1 MMA, 7-2 DREAM) vs. Takeshi "Lion" Inoue (21-5 MMA, 2-1 DREAM) and featherweights Tatsuya Kawajiri (29-7-2 MMA, 9-2 DREAM) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (11-8 MMA, 4-2 DREAM). The event takes place Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the event will air on HDNet. However, it hasn't been decided if it'll air live or via delay. In addition to MMA fights, the event is expected to feature K-1, kickboxing, pro-wrestling and other competitions as part of a stacked lineup.

Add your comment  

Seven-foot-two K-1 World GP in Seoul Champion and DREAM "Super Hulk" Hong Man Choi has been booked with assault following an October 8 altercation with a female customer at a bar he owns and operates in Seoul, South Korea. The alleged assault occurred when a female customer refused to pay a tab at Choi's bar which turned out to be more expensive than she had anticipated. Following an argument, the female patron claims that Choi punched her in the face.

Add your comment  

Dream welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis is set to face Swedish-based Brazilian Bruno Carvalho in Stockholm on Nov. 26 under the banner of Swedish promotion Rumble of the Kings. Sherdog.com confirmed news of the bout on Sunday following an initial report from Kimura.se.

Add your comment  

Newly signed light-heavyweight Gerald Harris (18-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and Japanese veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura (15-10 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) are penciled in for DREAM.17. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the matchup from sources close to the bout, who said verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected shortly. DREAM.17 takes place Sept. 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Although broadcast plans have yet to be announced, negotiations are underway between the promotion and previous U.S. television partner HDNet to possibly air the event.

Add your comment  

He's already the #9 ranked lightweight in the USA Today / SBN consensus rankings, but he will soon be trying to crush guys in another division. He's done very well at lightweight, but after failing to wrest both the DREAM and Strikeforce lightweight titles, DREAM officials have announced today that Tatsuya Kawajiri will now look to take on new challenges as a featherweight. He will be making his debut against Joachim Hansen on September 24th, as part of the DREAM.17 card. This will be a rematch of their extremely quick and controversial bout back in 2006, when Kawajiri defended his Shooto welterweight (154 lbs.) title. DREAM.17 - September 24, 2011 - Saitama Super Arena, Japan Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Joachim Hansen Shinya Aoki vs. Rob McCullough Takeshi Inoue vs. Caol Uno Willamy Freire vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Add your comment  

As a reminder, a tape-delayed broadcast of July's "DREAM: Japan GP Final" event debuts on HDNet this week. Officials recently announced that the July 16 event will debut on HDNet on Aug. 5 at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). The event, which didn't air live on North America, took place at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo and featured two title fights, as well as the conclusion of the DREAM Japan bantamweight grand prix.

Add your comment  

Two new bouts are official for next month's DREAM.17 event. In a non-title fight, DREAM lightweight champ Shinya Aoki (28-5 MMA, 12-2 DREAM) takes on former WEC titleholder "Razor" Rob McCullough (19-7 MMA, 0-0 DREAM), and in another lightweight contest, ex-Sengoku champ Satoru Kitaoka (28-10-9 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) meets recent UFC fighter Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire (18-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM). DREAM.17 takes place Sept. 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Add your comment  

As expected, DREAM will return in September, but it will look a little different when it does. At a Wednesday press conference, DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara officially announced that DREAM.17 will take place Sept. 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama Japan. But contrary to previous events, DREAM will use the card to launch a new rule change: the use of three, five-minute rounds.

Add your comment  

Former Dream featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes (8-3) will drop to the bantamweight division and will compete in the Dream world bantamweight grand prix. The first round of the event goes down September 24th, and Fernandes will be training with UFC bantamweight title challenger Demetrious Johnson at Matt Hume's gym in Seattle in preparation.

Add your comment  

With its second show of 2011 now in the books, the Japanese-based DREAM promotion is expected to host its third event in September, officials recently announced. It's expected to feature the start of an eight-man world bantamweight grand prix. Officials have not revealed a date and venue for the event.

Add your comment  

Hiroyuki Takaya fended off a stiff challenge from Kazuyuki Miyata to take a split decision win and retained his Featherweight title at Dream: Fight for Japan. Takaya showed excellent take down defense and good striking to get the nod on 2/3 of the judges' cards. Takaya bounces back with the win from his April loss to Roberto Peralta in his Strikeforce debut. In the final of the Dream bantamweight tournament, Hideo Tokoro defeated Masakazu Imanari by unanimous decision to win the tournament. Imanari pulled guard throughout the fight and Tokoro managed to evade all his submission attempts. The judges felt Tokoro's striking advantage was enough to win the fight. In other action, Dream light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi held on to his belt by finishing Hiroshi Izumi with a first round TKO. Tatsuya Kawajiri finished Drew Fickett in the first round in a lightweight bout and Tatsuya Mizuno finished Trevor Prangley in a one-round slugfest. 145 lb. title: Hiroyuki Takaya def. Kazuyuki Miyata via split decision 135 lb. Tournament Final: Hideo Tokoro def. Masakazu Imanari via unanimous decision 205 lb. title: Gegard Mousasi def. Hiroshi Izumi via TKO at 3:29 round 1 155 lbs.: Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Drew Fickett via TKO at 4:41 round 1 135 lbs.: Kenji Osawa def. Keisuke Fujiwara via unanimous decision 205 lbs.: Tatsuya Mizuno def. Trevor Prangley via TKO at 4:41 round 1 175 lbs.: Marius Zaromskis def. Eiji Ishikawa via unanimous decision 155 lbs.: Eiji Mitsuoka def. Bruno Carvalho via unanimous decision

Add your comment  

An undisclosed injury has forced ex-UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee (6-2 MMA, 0-1 DREAM) to withdraw from this weekend's "DREAM: Japan GP Final" event. A source close to the event today confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) after ESPN.com's initial report. Nick Gaston (5-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM), Duffee's originally scheduled opponent, also has been scratched from the card due to the late-notice change. "DREAM: Japan GP Final" takes place this Saturday, July 16, at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the event (officially dubbed "Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final").

Add your comment  

On December 31, 2009, Mizuto Hirota got his arm wrenched behind his back by possibly the most ruthless man in MMA: DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki. Hirota, who was then the Sengoku lightweight champion and had engaged in a war of words with Aoki prior to the bout, refused to tap and so Aoki wrenched the arm further and further until Hirota's body shook and a sickening snap was heard through Saitama Super Arena as referee Yuji Shimada proceeded to dive in and covered his mouth in shock. With Hirota lying stunned on the canvas and his arm destroyed, Shinya Aoki stood over his defeated opponent while sticking his tongue out and extending his middle finger before excitedly running around the ring and flipping off the audience. Not yet finished, Aoki then laughed at Hirota and mocked his broken arm before proudly named the submission after his boss, the "Keiichi Sasahara 2010." Hirota obviously should have tapped, but Aoki's performance at Dynamite!! 2009 was one of the lowest points in the history of Japanese MMA. At Deep 55 on August 26, twenty months after getting his arm snapped, Hirota will finally be ready to return.

Add your comment  

Another champion has been added to DREAM's upcoming event as DREAM welterweight champion and 2009 Welterweight GP champion Marius Zaromskis will rematch former pound-for-pound great Hayato "Mach" Sakurai in a non-title bout at Fight for Japan: DREAM 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final.

Add your comment