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DREAM: Fight for Japan

12K views 43 replies 9 participants last post by  kantowrestler 
#1 ·
DREAM.17
Date: May 29, 2011
Location: Saitama, Japan
Venue: Saitama Super Arena
Broadcast: HDnet



Fight Card:

# Nakamura /Yamamoto winner vs. Maeda/Tokoro winner (Japan bantamweight-tourney semifinal)
# Fujiwara/Imanari winner vs. Osawa/Otsuka winner (Japan bantamweight-tourney semifinal)
# Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
# Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura
# Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Caol Uno
# Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
# Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
# Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
# Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Masakazu Imanari (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
# Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)
# Yusaku Nakamura vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (Japan bantamweight-tourney first round)


Big-show MMA is not yet dead in Japan.

Fighting and Entertainment Group on Thursday evening announced a long-rumored bantamweight grand prix, which begins on May 29 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The tournament, which has been titled the DREAM Japan Grand Prix, is expected to feature eight fighters: Keisuke Fujiwara, Masakazu Imanari, Yoshiro Maeda, Kenji Osawa, Takafumi Otsuka, Hideo Tokoro, Darren Uyenoyama and Atsushi Yamamoto.

The first and second rounds of the tournament are expected to take place in May, and the final round is currently scheduled for July. The top three finishers in the tournament secure slots in a planned DREAM world bantamweight grand prix.

The May 29 card is also expected to hose a few non-tournament bouts which could feature such competitors as Shinya Aoki, Joachim Hansen, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Katsunori Kikuno, Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura and Caol Uno.

A press conference announcing the event also featured several Japanese promoters, who said they plan to band together to raise money for relief efforts in Japan following this past month's devastating earthquake.

Broadcast plans for the DREAM Japan Grand Prix have yet to be finalized, but it was revealed that the massive Saitama Super Arena will be scaled down to its smallest configuration, which accommodates approximately 7,000 fans.

FEG's most recent event was its traditional year-end offering, DREAM "Dynamite 2010!!" The promotion, however, has suffered well-documented financial struggles, and several fighters have in recent months come forward to complain they haven't been yet been paid.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in January spoke with longtime Japanese MMA star Bob Sapp, who no-showed the New Year's Eve show and flatly said the promotion is broke.

At the same time, Japanese MMA blog Nightmare of Battle quoted an interview FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa gave to Japanese magazine "Sports Graphic Novel," in which the executive gave a dire assessment of FEG's future.

"The current course is that FEG will die," Tanikawa said. "There are probably staff members that will leave as well. The event name will be left but the promotion will change. If the current structure remains as it is it will be impossible to continue. If many investments from companies overseas do not come in we can’t survive."

With both ratings and attendance down in recent years, the Japanese fight promotion has been trying to raise additional funds through a recent partnership with PUJI Capital, an investment banking group, though it appears the success of those efforts has been minimal.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/23255/feg...antamweight-grand-prix-to-begin-on-may-29.mma
 
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#28 ·
Well, he was on the card for a little over 24 hours:

Antonio McKee (25-4-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that his announced "DREAM.17: Fight for Japan" bout with Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM) has fallen through because he was unable to obtain a visa.

HDNet first announced his withdrawal via Twitter, though the reason initially wasn't revealed.

However, a DREAM representative told MMAjunkie.com he isn't buying the fighter's excuse.

"There's a travel agent in L.A. since this morning ready to get all the paperwork processed and have his visa processed by Thursday," said DREAM rep Mike Kogan. "He would have had plenty of time. So if it's a visa issue, he can get it done. If it's not, then his people need to come up with a better excuse."

DREAM.17 takes place May 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and serves as a fundraiser following earthquakes and a tsunami that recently ravaged the country. HDNet is expected to air the show in North America.

It's not clear if Aoki will remain on the card; as of Monday, officials hadn't announced the loss of McKee.

McKee, a former MFC champion and 41-year-old IFL vet, recently made his lone UFC appearance after posting a 15-fight unbeaten streak (14-0-1). However, he then suffered a split-decision defeat to Jacob Volkmann at UFC 125 in January and then received his promotional release. It was the California-based wrestler's first defeat in eight years.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/23621/vis...kee-out-of-dream-17-bout-with-shinya-aoki.mma
 
#38 ·
Aoki didn't want some Sugar? That man's got No Love! Thanks for the heads up Grabaka, they say at mmajunkie that Nelson will get to fight at the next DREAM show:

Thanks to Shinya Aoki (27-5 MMA, 11-2 DREAM), Shane Nelson (13-5 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) won't be fighting at DREAM.17.

However, his willingness to fight one of the sport's elite lightweights on less than two-weeks' notice has not gone unrewarded.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed with multiple sources close to the Japanese-based promotion that while Nelson's contract was voided when Aoki declined to face him at the event, "The Ultimate Fighter 8" cast member was awarded a two-fight deal with the promotion.

Nelson is now set to debut for the promotion at DREAM.18, which is tentatively set for July.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/23644/sou...-sugar-still-rewarded-with-two-fight-deal.mma
 
#41 ·
I preferred the Nelson fight to the Clementi fight. Despite Nelson not being the best fighter he has never been finished and trains with BJ Penn which at least for me makes it an interesting fight as BJ would be the guy to go to IMO to prepare to beat Aoki.
 
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