The Japanese-based DREAM organization announced today the first two bouts for its DREAM 12 event. Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will take on DEEP lightweight champion, Katsunori Kikuno, and current Cage Force lightweight champion Kuniyoshi Hironaka will face South Korean prospect, Won Sik Park.
Dream 12 takes place on Oct. 25 at Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan, and the event will air in North America on HDNet.
Dream also announced that South Korean, Myeon Ho Bae, will also compete on the DREAM 12 card, however, an opponent for him has not yet been named.
Alvarez (18-2) previously competed for DREAM from March to Dec. 2008, compiling a 3-1 record with the promotion, gaining wins over Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen and Andre Amada. He was defeated in his last DREAM appearance by Shinya Aoki at the New Year's Eve show.
Most recently, Alvarez breezed through Bellator FC's inaugural lightweight tournament, earning wins over Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds, and Toby Imada en route to earning $100,000 and the promotion's lightweight title. He has finished 16 of his 18 career wins including 11 by TKO or KO.
Kikuno (12-1-1) is unbeaten in his last 11 bouts, which includes a nine-fight winning streak. The longtime DEEP veteran most recently defeated Andre Amade via first round TKO in his DREAM debut in July at DREAM 10. Eight of his 12 career wins have came via stoppage.
Hironaka (15-6) is on a three-fight winning streak, with his most recent win coming against Yoshihiro Koyama at Cage Force 12 earlier this month. He previously fought for DREAM in 2008, going 1-1 with the promotion, losing to Hayato "Mach" Sakurai while earning a TKO win over Motoki Miyazawa in his DREAM debut.
Park (7-1-1) has gone undefeated in his last eight bouts since losing in his professional MMA debut against Fernando Vieira at MARS 5 in Oct. 2006. He most recently defeated Yuichi Ikari via first round submission at DEEP 43 last month. The M-1 Challenge veteran has finished all but one of his seven career wins.
Bae (8-4) is coming off of a win over Yusaku Tsukumo at DEEP 42 in June and is now 7-1 in his last eight bouts. His only loss during the streak came in his previous fight against Fabio Nascimento at M-1 Challenge 14. Bae opened his career competing in his first seven bouts for Japan's MARS promotion.
The star studded DREAM 12 line up is also expected to feature the likes of Alistair Overeem, Marius Zaromskis, Paulo Filho, Yoshiro Maeda, Murilo Rua and Kiyoshi Tamura.