So it looked like it would be the best card DREAM has put together, and one of the greatest cards of the year, but now Diaz vs. Sakurai got scrapped because Diaz has to fight fookin Thomas Denny at Elite XC next event, and now Mirko is injured, so that takes off the fight with JLB.
If there is any good news to this, it's that Septembers card will most likely be stacked, with the Sakurai vs. Diaz Welterweight fight moved to there, the finals of the MW GP, and Cro Cop vs. Overeem is likely for then.
http://dreamfighters.com/site/?actio...&id=1215376293
"DreamFighters.com has learned through a source, which is now confirmed from Mirko Crocop, as he did a small interview for
http://dnevnik.hr, in which he states he will not be fighting at DREAM.5 due to an old injury, that will not require surgery.
Mirko goes on to state that he is very upset, and wanted to fight at DREAM.5.
Quote from Mirko:
"'I would like to take the DREAM belt, and fight with some people that so far I have not fought. My big wish is to come back in the UFC, at least for one fight. I can not wait another fight, "said Mirko us."
Mirko also stated that he will most likely fight Overeem at DREAM in september, if the injuries heal up. "
EDIT:
This is what Cro Cop has said...
"Hello everyone,
unfortunately I have some bad news� I won't be fighting at DREAM 5 at all. I was about to face Jerome LeBanner but he decided to fight in K1 against Schilt. Mighty Mo was the alternative and I accepted this challenge, but unfortunately Mighty Mo pulled off from the fight. I was ready to face Mo, but maybe this scenario wasn't that bad for me at all and I'll tell you why.
I've been having problems with my right elbow for years and the injury got even worse over last 6 months. I'm already receiving a proper treatment but the recovery won't happen over night. The second problem is a knee injury, something that troubles me for quite a while. I had difficulties using my kicks and over last few weeks I focused more on boxing and grappling. I really wanted to fight on July 21 and I was even ignoring doctor's suggestions, but now I've rached the point from which I can't continue with my normal training regiment due to my injuries.
I was willing to accept the risk of fighting Mo or someone else without being 100% ready fo the fight. I had only one fight this year, I miss big fights and top level competition. I'm eager to get back to the big stage, I still have good fights left in me and I won't give up. I'm not happy with this outcome of course, but at this moment I need to be patient and give some time for my body to recover.
I'm scheduled for arthroscopy tomorrow morning, it's a minor surgical procedure but it will keep me away from MMA trainings for 2-3 weeks probably. From Wednesday I'll focus on my new cardio training program and we'll add MMA elements to my training regiment as soon as my knee will be ready for action.
My goal is to become the first heavyweight champion in DREAM and to do that I need to be ready to fight on September 23. I'm not interested in summer time, vacations or things like that; I'll focus on getting back to shape and hopefully I'll fight in September. I would really like to fight Alistair Overeem, we all know why and I won't let it go. My career is far from being over, I'll be fighting some strong competitors soon again and hopefully I'll meet Fedor in the ring once more in 2009.
Thank you for supporting me and I'll get back to you all soon to keep you updated. "