Dream (mixed martial arts)
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
| Founded | February 13, 2008 |
| Founder(s) | Sadaharu Tanikawa (President of FEG) |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Key people | Keiichi Sasahara, Head and Matchmaker Daisuke Sato, Productions Director |
| Parent | Real Entertainment |
| Website | Dreamofficial.com |
Dream (styled DREAM in capitals) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. DREAM replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retains many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC broadcasts, including fight introducer Lenne Hardt. In America, the promotion is aired on HDNet. To date they have promoted over 20 shows highlighting some of the best Japanese and international MMA talent, establishing or enhancing the careers of top ranked fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Eddie Alvarez, Joe Warren, and Gegard Mousasi.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Pride FC's buyout and Yarennoka!
After the Zuffa buyout of Pride FC, the former Dream Stage Entertainment executives put on a collaborative New Year's Eve mixed martial arts show with Shooto, M-1 Global, and the Fighting and Entertainment Group, called Yarennoka!. This show was intended to be a farewell show of Pride FC. However, due to its success and further petitioning by Japanese MMA fans, the FEG and the former DSE staff decided to combine their efforts and form a new Japanese promotion.
[edit] Hero's dissolution and Dream's emergence
Their new promotion was confirmed on February 13, 2008, along with Hero's dissolution. All of Hero's' fighters were confirmed (such as Hero's champions Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Yoshihiro Akiyama and JZ Calvan) to be part of the new promotion along with the additions of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, Shinya Aoki, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mitsuhiro Ishida, and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai.[1] Another notable announcement was Dream's partnership with M-1 Global, who confirmed that they would allow the last Heavyweight Champion of Pride FC (and the winner of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix), Fedor Emelianenko, to fight in their events. Emelianenko was present at the Dream press conference to promote the alliance between the two shows.[2]
[edit] Partnership with HDNet
On May 2, 2008, Dream aired for the first time in the United States with a repeat of Dream 1 on HDNet. A repeat of Dream 2 was aired the following day, while Dream 3 was aired live on May 11. All future Dream events will be airing on HDNet as a part of the network's HDNet Fights series.[3]
[edit] Partnership with EliteXC
On May 10, 2008, Dream announced the working partnership with US promotion EliteXC. The two groups intended to share fighters and eventually co-promote shows. However, with EliteXC now bankrupt the alliance no longer exists.[4]
[edit] Alliance with Strikeforce
On August 5, 2009, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that the two promotions had signed a formal alliance. This is reportedly a deal that has been talked about for quite some time, but has finally come to fruition. The result of this deal is that the two organizations will exchange fighters and work together to bring MMA fans the best fights possible. Also, because of Strikeforce's recent agreement with Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 Global, it is presumable that they would be involved in the alliance as well.[5] In October 2009, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated interest in unifying the titles between the two promotions. However Dream has yet to give a public response. It's likely all unification plans have been dropped due to Zuffa, the parent company of UFC, acquiring Stikeforce.
[edit] Alliance with ONE Fighting Championship
November 23, 2011 sources close to ONE Fighting Championship announced a new alliance with DREAM to copromote shows and participate in fighter exchange.[6] This follows weeks after ONE FC's deals with the Korean based Road Fighting championship, and the Filipino based URCC and Cage Fighting Championship in Australia. ONE FC, based in Singapore seeks to promote the rise of popularity of MMA in Asia.
[edit] Partnership with ProElite
On January 17, 2012 ProElite announced a partnership with DREAM to copromote shows and exchange fighters.[7]
[edit] Rules
[edit] Weight classes
Dream has 7 weight classes. Unlike Hero's, each weight class will have a champion with a defendable title.[2]
- 61 kilograms (134 lb) – Bantamweight
- 65 kilograms (143 lb) – Featherweight
- 70 kilograms (154 lb) – Lightweight
- 76 kilograms (168 lb) – Welterweight
- 84 kilograms (185 lb) – Middleweight
- 93 kilograms (205 lb) – Light Heavyweight
- no upper limit – Heavyweight
It was announced that in 2011 Dream will create a new Bantamweight class at 61 kg (134 lb), and the Featherweight class will be raised to 65 kg (143 lb).[8]
[edit] Round length
- There are three 5-minute rounds.
[edit] Judging
- Fights will be judged in their entirety by three judges, not on a round-by-round ten-point-must basis (more common to North American promotions).
- A winner will always be declared, as draws are not possible.
[edit] Attire
Dream allows fighters latitude in their choice of attire but open finger gloves, a mouthguard and a protective cup are mandatory. Fighters are allowed to use tape on parts of their body or to wear a gi top, gi pants, wrestling shoes, kneepads, elbow pads, or ankle supports at their own discretion, though each must be checked by the referee before the fight.
[edit] Fouls and violations
- Stomps and soccer kicks to the head of a grounded opponent are not allowed (unless both fighters are on the ground), but they are allowed to the rest of the body.
- Elbows to the head are prohibited.
- If there is a 15 kilograms (33 lb) or more weight difference between the fighters, knees to the head of a grounded opponent are not allowed.
- A grounded opponent is defined as one in a three-point position. If a fighter has, for example, both knees and one hand on the floor facing the mat, then no kicks to the head are allowed.
- Strikes to the back of the head are not allowed
[edit] Tournament substitutions
- In case of a "No Contest" or injury, the fighter who can continue will go through to the next round, if neither fighter is able to continue the promoter will choose a replacement fighter to go through.
[edit] Current champions
| Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | no limit | Vacant | ||
| Light Heavyweight | 93 kg (205 lb) |  Gegard Mousasi |
September 25, 2010 | 1 |
| Middleweight | 84 kg (185 lb) | Vacant | ||
| Welterweight | 76 kg (168 lb) |  Marius Zaromskis |
July 20, 2009 | 1 |
| Lightweight | 70 kg (154 lb) |  Shinya Aoki |
October 6, 2009 | 2 |
| Featherweight | 65 kg (143 lb) | Hiroyuki Takaya |
December 31, 2010 | 2 |
| Bantamweight | 61 kg (134 lb) |  Bibiano Fernandes |
December 31, 2011 | 0 |
[edit] Tournament Finalists
| Year | Weight Division | Champion | Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lightweight |  Joachim Hansen |
Shinya Aoki |
| 2008 | Middleweight | Gegard Mousasi |
Ronaldo Souza |
| 2009 | Welterweight | Marius Zaromskis |
 Jason High |
| 2009 | Featherweight | Bibiano Fernandes |
Hiroyuki Takaya |
| 2009 | Superhulk | Ikuhisa Minowa |
 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou |
| 2010 | Light Heavyweight | Gegard Mousasi |
Tatsuya Mizuno |
| 2011 | JP Bantamweight | Hideo Tokoro |
Masakazu Imanari |
| 2011 | Bantamweight | Bibiano Fernandes |
Antonio Banuelos |
[edit] Current Roster
[edit] Bantamweight
Antonio Banuelos
Yoshiro Maeda- Hideo Tokoro
- Kenji Osawa
- Masakazu Imanari
- Keisuke Fujiwara
- Takafumi Otsuka
- Yusaku Nakamura
- Atsushi Yamamoto
Bibiano Fernandes (DREAM Bantamweight Champion)- Rodolfo Marques
[edit] Featherweight
Joachim Hansen- Tatsuya Kawajiri
- Hiroyuki Takaya (DREAM Featherweight Champion)
- Daiki Hata
- Mitsuhiro Ishida
- Akiyo Nishiura
- Takeshi Inoue
- Kazuhisa Watanabe
- Kazuyuki Miyata
- Caol Uno
- Koichiro Matsumoto
[edit] Lightweight
- Rich Clementi
- Shane Nelson
- Drew Fickett
- Rob McCullough
- Andre Amade
- Willamy Freire
- Bruno Carvalho (fighter)
- Gesias Calvancante
- Vitor Ribeiro
- Marcus Aurélio
- Shinya Aoki (DREAM Lightweight Champion)
- Daisuke Nakamura
- Koutetsu Boku
- Tatsuya Kawajiri
- Katsunori Kikuno
- Katsuhiko Nagata
- Satoru Kitaoka
[edit] Welterweight
Marius Zaromskis (DREAM Welterweight Champion)- Jason High
Tarec Saffiedine- Andrews Nakahara
Jung Bu-Kyung
Andy Ologun- Yan Cabral
- Kazushi Sakuraba
- Kuniyoshi Hironaka
- Ryo Chonan
- Katsuya Inoue
- Hayato Sakurai
- Yuya Shirai
[edit] Middleweight
Karl Amoussou
Zelg Galesic- Gerald Harris
- Dong Sik Yoon
- Shungo Oyama
- Taiei Kin
- Kiyoshi Tamura
- Kazuhiro Nakamura
[edit] Light Heavyweight
Gegard Mousasi (DREAM Light Heavyweight Champion)
Melvin Manhoef- Ralek Gracie
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou- Yoshiyuki Nakanishi
- Tatsuya Mizuno
- Hiroshi Izumi
Trevor Prangley
[edit] Heavyweight
- Jérôme Le Banner
Fedor Emelianenko- Bob Sapp
- Todd Duffee
- Jeff Monson
Siala-Mou "Mighty Mo" Siliga
James Thompson- Hong Man Choi
- Katsuyori Shibata
- Satoshi Ishii
- Ikuhisa Minowa
[edit] Events
[edit] Event locations
- Total event number: 23
These cities have hosted the following numbers of Dream events as of Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011:
[edit] References
- ^ "K-1's new Dream includes Cro Cop". Mma Weekly. February 13, 2008. http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=5691&zoneid=1. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ a b Loiseleur, Tony (February 13, 2008). "'Dream' Come True?". Sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/news/pictures.asp?n_id=11302. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ "Mark Cuban's HDNET to air Japan's Dream". Mma Weekly. http://mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6167&zoneid=13. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ "PRO ELITE & Dream ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP". MMAWeekly. 2008. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6248&zoneid=13. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
- ^ "STRIKEFORCE AND DREAM FORMALIZING "ALLIANCE"". MMAWeekly. 2009. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=9288&zoneid=2. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ^ "DREAM, ONE FC Announce Deal to Co-Promote Events, Exchange Talent". mmafighting.com. November 28, 2011. http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/11/28/dream-one-fc-announce-deal-to-co-promote-events-exchange-talen/. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
- ^ "ProElite to Partner With DREAM". mmafighting.com. January 17, 2012. http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/17/proelite-to-partner-with-dream/. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ^ Loiseleur, Tony (2011-04-20). "‘Dream: Fight For Japan’ Bantamweight Tournament Bracket Set". Sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Dream-Fight-For-Japan-Bantamweight-Tournament-Bracket-Set-31784. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ^ "新格闘技イベント「Dream」誕生！ミルコの参戦も決定3.15さいたまで旗揚げ、総勢23選手が会見に出席". Sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp. 2008-02-14. http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/other/column/200802/at00016352.html. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- ^ DiPietro, Monty (March 8, 2009). "HELLO JAPAN! SHINYA AOKI WINS AT Dream 7". MMAWeekly.com. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=8342&zoneid=13. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ Dream Run: Zaromskis Wins Grand Prix
- ^ Tony Loiseleur. "Aoki Subs Hansen; Fernandes Wins Dream GP". http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/aoki-subs-hansen-fernandes-wins-dream-gp-20173.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
