Originally Posted by IronMan @ MMAOpinion

When Dream made the decision to introduce a hexagonal cage into their promotion, there was a lot of speculation about the impact it would have on their draw. Some of the pieces touched on the potential marketing possibilities of bringing Dream into the United States, which is a distinct possibility, given their new relationship with Strikeforce. That said, the potential impacts of that kind of a move haven’t really been gauged or speculated on.

It’s generally presumed that the draw in the Japan is based on the name value of the individual fighters. Fighters like Eddie Alvarez (18-2 MMA, #3 IWMMAR) and Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1 MMA), who will meet on the event where the cage will be debuted on October 26th, do a lot to draw the attention of the Japanese audience. Still, looking at the history of mixed martial arts in Japan, it’s worth making a few notes about the potential damage Dream might do to their own numbers by bringing a cage in.

While Leland Rolling (who’s article is linked above) notes that Cage Force has done well in Japan by building a niche community, one of the reasons why they haven’t bridged over into the mainstream has to do with an issue of perception by the public. Of course, it’s also worth noting, as Rolling does, that Cage Force has been a minor league organization feeding directly into the UFC, but the failure to build a solid promotional base in Japan isn’t just about the quality of talent their sacrificing, it’s about a long history of ring fighting that an organization using a cage can’t cling to.