The relationship starts this Saturday night in Hawaii as DREAM mainstay Ikuhisa Minowa takes on Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Kendall Grove in the main event of ProElite: Da Spyda vs. Minowaman.

President of ProElite Billy Kelly commented on the new affair by saying, “Our partnership with DREAM forms a promotional bond with the most prominent Japanese MMA organization. Dream has developed a stable of great fighters on their roster and a strong team behind the scenes. With this exchange, the two organizations are building a cultural and fight-event bridge that our fans are sure to welcome.”

Also on the card will be DREAM light heavyweight grand prix runner-up Tatsuya Mizuno taking on Ilima Maiava. Plus, the voice of Japanese MMA, Lenne Hardt, will introduce the fighters as they walk down to the cage before battle.

“I’m really honored to join the partnership with ProElite,” added DREAM Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara. “It is important for us to exploit Asian or Pan-pacific markets by improving relationships with foreign organizations like ProElite. We would like to make this fighter exchange program a first step to generate synergistic success for both organizations.”

News of the fights was first reported by MMAJunkie.com

One of the top lightweights in the world for many years, Aoki is currently on a five fight win streak. “The Baka Survivor” is known for his excellent grappling game, with 18 of his career 28 victories coming by way of submission. During his five fight win streak, Aoki has submitted four of his opponents including wrestler Lyle Beerbohm, striker Tatsuya Kawajiri, and grappler Rich Clementi. Although the man with the rainbow pants is the current DREAM lightweight champion, his title will not be on the line in this fight.

“Razor” Rob is a muay thai veteran who has been competing in MMA since 2001. A former WEC lightweight champion, McCullough is looking for one last big run in his career. 4-4 in his last eight fights, he’s coming off a devastating TKO loss to Patricky Freire in the first round of Bellator‘s most recent lightweight tournament. This fight will be McCullough’s first pro MMA fight outside of the US in his career.

At the age of 31, Kitaoka has already competed in 46 professional bouts and holds victories over the likes of Takanori Gomi, Paul Daley, and Carlos Condit. His opponent, Freire, had won 11 straight fights before losing a unanimous decision to Waylon Lowe at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 this past January.

DREAM.17 is scheduled for September 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Along with these two lightweight bouts, a featherweight bout between Takeshi Inoue and Caol Uno is on the card. No word yet if the event will be broadcasted live in the United States.

Starting September 24 in coordination with the company’s DREAM 17 event, all frames will be five minutes rather than handled in the style made popular by PRIDE involving an opening round of ten with any additional periods lasting half as long. This will also pertain to championship clashes where a 5×5 format will be adopted in comparison to the 3×5 used for non-title bouts.

Additionally interesting, though not formally announced, the company hinted at the likelihood of Shinya Aoki seeing action on the card with a “foreigner” standing opposite from him in the ring.

While Aoki’s future remains a mystery, one match-up was mentioned in the company’s statements between former Shooto champions Caol Uno (26-14-5) and “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (20-5) with a shot at Hiroyuki Takaya’s featherweight belt likely on the line.

Uno, a UFC and K-1 veteran, recently snapped a rough patch with a Unanimous Decision win in May, adding to an impressive run over a fifteen-year career featuring similar success against a number of notable fighters such as Yves Edwards and Mitsuhiro Ishida.

The colorful Inoue is coming off back-to-back TKOs and holds past victories over Antonio Carvalho, Rumina Sato, and Cole Miller. He has finished thirteen of his opponents including nine as the result of his significant striking ability.

PHOTO CREDIT – DREAM

Kawajiri avoided an early Guillotine Choke attempt from Drew Fickett to deliver some trademark ground-and-pound action to secure the win midway through the opening round. The performance improved his overall record to 28-7-2 and was his twelfth TKO to date.

Another popular fighter who cruised to first frame victory, Mousasi outclassed opponent Hiroshi Izumi from the opening bell and left him a battered, bloody mess minus a few teeth by the time the referee stopped things a few minutes into their bout. “The Dreamcatcher” has now won three of his last four fights with the only exception being a Draw to Keith Jardine in Strikeforce.

Also notable at the show, Hiroyuki Takaya retained his featherweight title after narrowly outpointing Kazuyuki Miyati in the card’s main event, while Hideo Tokoro‘s win over Masakzu Imanari landed him the title of DREAM Bantamweight Grand Prix champion.

Read below for complete “DREAM: Fight for Japan 2011″ results:

Eiji Mitsuoka def. Bruno Carvalho via Unanimous Decision
Marius Zaromskis def. Eiji Ishikawa via Unanimous Decision
Tatsuya Mizuno def. Trevor Prangley via Knockout Round 1 (Body Shot)
Kenji Osawa def. Keisuke Fujiwara via Unanimous Decision
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Drew Fickett via TKO Round 1
Gegard Mousasi def. Hiroshi Izumi via TKO Round 1
Hideo Tokoro def. Masakazu Imanari via Unanimous Decision
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Kazuyuki Miyata via Split Decision

Five Ounces of Pain spoke with the highly-respected competitor about his current status who in turn explained he had a pair of his 185-pound peers turn down bouts against him which would have been scheduled for last weekend’s “Strikeforce – Henderson vs. Babalu II” event.

“I said yes to two different names for the December 4th card but both guys turned down the fight,” Kennedy explained. Though the humble 31-year old did not reveal names, he did explain he’s being proactive about the situation – a quality likely serving him well throughout his decorated military career.

According to Kennedy, he is exploring DREAM as an option where a future fight is concerned. While nothing official is eminent, his interest in mixing it up this month along with the Japanese company’s involvement in the annual “Dynamite!!” show does lend credit to the idea a match-up on New Year’s Eve could be a possibility if things fall into place just right.

Kennedy is 12-3 in his career with wins over Trevor Prangley and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. He has never been finished while taking home eleven of his twelve victories by way of submission/TKO. Also notable, and perhaps a factor in his struggle to find an opponent, is the fact the bulk of his success came while splitting time between MMA and his duties as an active Green Beret Sniper meaning he now has the ability to fully focus on training for the sport.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

Five Ounces of Pain was able to confirm news of the Brazilian’s expected appearance by a party with direct knowledge of the circumstances.

The BJJ-blackbelt is 8-2 overall and has won his last seven fights in a row. Fernandes’ only losses came in the second and third bouts of his career against divisional greats Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber. Comparably, he holds past victories over Hansen, Hiroyuki Takaya, Masakazu Imanari, and Bellator 145-pound title-holder Joe Warren.

Like many Mixed Martial Arts enthusiasts, fighters and fans, the love I have for the sport was in large part fostered by watching PRIDE Fighting Championships. The events were fascinating visually and always ripe with action featuring a number of talented athletes. When the promotion officially went “sayonara” in late 2007 I was as concerned about the void its absence would leave on the MMA landscape as I was relieved when DREAM emerged on the scene less than a year later with FEG’s creative team at the reins.

That being said, I currently find myself at a crossroads in my love for the Japanese organization. Though DREAM has provided as many memorable match-ups as it has iconic introductions, it has recently come to light Ralek Gracie has not been paid for his May 29th fight against Kazushi Sakuraba at DREAM 14. News of the ongoing saga to procure his salary came via a radio interview with popular MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. In fact, Gracie even mentioned it’s even been a struggle to get a response from the company let alone his winnings.

Were this the first time a similar story had broken in relation to DREAM it might be worth an ounce of patience, though little more when given the nature of the offense and the stakes fighters face. Sadly, however, the issue of non-or-excessively-late payment has become as associated with DREAM as announcer Michael Schiavello’s trademark colloquialisms, with past examples made public involving Gary Goodridge, Bibiano Fernandes, and Nick Diaz.

As a result of this latest salary-related problem, in the words of Schiavello, I will be saying, “Goodnight Irene!” to the promotion in terms of both covering and watching their events until the overall matter of apt payment is fully resolved. It’s time to open our eyes and wake up from the DREAM dream.

The thought pains me, but the truth is MMA and its participants deserve the support of fans/media (even fighters) when it comes to certain situations, and sometimes doing what’s right is difficult. For an individual to risk his/her well-being in potential life-altering situations…life-ending situations in extremely rare occasions as a matter of fact…and then having to fight with the same passion for basic financial reimbursement as they had in the ring is absolutely appalling on every level and should be treated as such.

Furthermore, to think a company with their profile and production value is failing on such a fundamental level is, in my opinion, downright disgusting. DREAM is not a small, local event with a half-filled high school gym in attendance; they are currently one of the largest names on the MMA scene. Dazzling the audience with electronic wizardry, trophies, and attractive ring girls while dishonoring the very men whose backs the organization is built on shames the sport and insults a group of people I have an immense amount of respect for – Mixed Martial Artists.

Ironically, the company’s name could not be more appropriate due to the inherent false-reality they’ve created with their proverbial smoke-show. As Leonardo DiCaprio’s character refers to in the blockbuster hit “Inception”, it’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange (in our dreams). Gracie’s situation was my alarm clock or “kick’ for fans of the film. I am opening the shades, looking at DREAM for what it presently is, and crawling out of from under the comfort and darkness of my covers.

If and when DREAM cuts every fighter on their cards a check with relative immediacy for a significant period of time – at minimum six months from Gracie’s payment – I will happily return to professing my affection for their product after letting loose an lengthy sigh of relief. Until that time comes I will continue to boycott them, support the actual athletes signed to the company, and stick to text-based results beyond that. I will also begin to question Strikeforce if they continue to cross-promote with DREAM, because frankly Scott Coker’s group is better than to keep associating themselves with that sort of disgrace unless contractually obligated to.

I don’t expect anyone else to follow suit, nor will I fault them for showing ongoing support of DREAM. They have great fighters and there is definitely something to be said for what they provide to the overall audience. I absolutely know I am cheating myself out of hours of pure delight because of the decision to more or less turn my back on DREAM, but the slight I’ll endure pales in comparison to the disservice they are doing to the entire MMA community by continually depriving fighters of the chance to make an honest living; to pay for their training, their bills, their families’ sustenance. I understand I am but one keyboard warrior on a quest with perhaps little more than a fool’s hope, but the involved principle being thrown to the wayside is something I refuse to tolerate.

“As long as it is realized and accepted that warriors must comprehend right and wrong, and strive to do right and avoid wrong, then the way of warriors is alive.” – Principle of Bushido as explained by Taira Shigesuke in ‘Bushido Shoshinshu’

Among the group of fighters finding success on the ground was now dual-divisional DREAM champion Gegard Mousasi. The 25-year old, who had previously held the promotion’s middleweight strap before voluntarily relinquishing it, beat Tatsuya Mizuno by way of Rear-Naked Choke a little more than midway through the opening round of their bout. The performance brought Mousasi’s record to 30-3-1 and was his second consecutive victory since dropping Strikeforce’s light heavyweight belt to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal this past April.

Also a winner by submission, Jason “Mayhem” Miller lived up to his promise of tapping out Japanese icon Kazushi Sakuraba and became the first fighter to do so since Kimo Leopoldo in Sakuraba’s MMA debut (circa 1996). Miller, who donned an orange-stripe in his hair rather than red out of respect for “Saku”, controlled the fight throughout its two-minute duration, even taking a moment to pause and flash his patented peace-sign pose while in top position. After raining down a few stiff shots shortly thereafter, Miller eventually locked in an Arm-Triangle Choke and fulfilled a life-goal in the process. The loss dropped Sakuraba’s record to 2-2 since the beginning of 2009 and was his second in a row.

As expected, the bulk of the action between submission-specialists Marcus Aurelio and Shinya Aoki took place on the mat. However, Aoki’s dominance and overall aggressiveness likely opened a few eyes. The “Tobikan Judan” offered little room for Aurelio’s offense, taking him down early and holding him there while doing a good deal of damage from the top as well. In fact, a large portion of the bout involved a slick double-leg triangle that kept Aurelio immobilized on the bottom for the most part. Aoki eventually went on to win the ground-war by way of unanimous decision.

Here is a complete rundown of DREAM 16 results:

Yusuke Kawaguchi def. James Thompson via Split Decision
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Akiyo Nishiura via Split Decision
Kazuyuki Miyata def. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue via Unanimous Decision
Joachim Hansen def. Hideo Tokoro via Submission Round 2 (Triangle Choke)
Michihiro Omigawa def. Cole Escovedo via Submission Round 2 (Inverted Armbar)
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Chase Beebe via Knockout Round 1 (Strikes)
Satoshi Ishii def. Ikuhisa “Punk” Minowa via Unanimous Decision
Shinya Aoki def. Marcus Aurelio via Unanimous Decision
Jason “Mayhem” Miller def. Kazushi Sakuraba via Submission Round 1 (Arm-Triangle Choke)
Gegard Mousasi def. Tatsuya Mizuno via Submission Round 1 (Arm-Triangle Choke)

Left without an opponent when Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren recently removed his name from consideration, Michihiro Omigawa will now face 16-5 Cole Escovedo at the September 25th event according to DREAM officials. Omigawa has won four straight fights and seven of his last eight. His opponent, 29-year old Escovedo, will be returning to the organization after knocking out Yoshiro Maeda in his debut with a head-kick at DREAM 13 last March.

Additionally, it was revealed fan-favorite Mitsuhiro Ishida will see action at the event against 11-5 Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura. Nishiura is 1-0 in DREAM after rendering Hideo Tokoro unconscious with strikes last May at DREAM 14, while Ishida will be looking to string together back-to-back wins in 2010 after dropping a pair of consecutive fights to close out last year.

Also, fresh off his eye-opening win over Joachim Hansen at DREAM 14, Hiroyuki Takaya will put his talent to the test against 25-year old Chase Beebe. Beebe will be looking to notch first win in the organization after losing to the previously mentioned Warren and Maeda in earlier attempts to do so.

Read below for the current DREAM 16 card as announced thus far:

Chase Beebe vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Cole Escovedo
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Akiyo Nishiura
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Shinya Aoki vs. Marcus Aurelio
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
Hideo Tokoro vs. Joachim Hansen
Gegard Mousasi vs. Tatsuya Mizuno

Had the bout taken place it would have been Warren’s second in September. The highly respected Greco-Roman wrestler’s exciting comeback win over Bellator’s former featherweight title-holder, Joe Soto, occurred on September 2nd and was his fourth fight of 2010.

Warren’s decision to ultimately decline the opportunity offered to fight Omigawa in Japan was related to an inability to come to terms with the company, as he explained in a conversation with Sherdog.

“It just didn’t work out very well,” said Warren. “We didn’t come to an agreement, and it didn’t look like it was the best opportunity for me at that time. I thought it was, but it just isn’t going to go down.”

However, just because the one-time Michigan Wolverine won’t be stepping into a Japanese ring on September 25th doesn’t mean he isn’t training to scrap again at some point in the immediate future. When asked about his upcoming plans, Warren replied, “I need to keep fighting and keep getting better. I probably won’t fight until November or December, so that will give me two months to get ready, and the best way to learn how to fight is by fighting. I’m still young, still healthy and injury-free.”

Warren is 6-1 with his only loss coming to Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes last October at DREAM 11 during the promotion’s featherweight grand prix. He has won all four of his fights since the defeat.

DREAM 16 will emanate from the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan. Among the bouts currently listed on the card, Jason “Mayhem” Miller will battle legend-of-the-ring-and-entrance Kazushi Sakuraba, while submission ace Shinya Aoki is slated to face BJJ blackbelt Marcus Aurelio. Additionally, Gegard Mousasi and Joachim Hansen are scheduled to be in action.

Over the weekend DREAM-promoter FEG announced Aoki would put his high-level Jiu-Jitsu skills up against a fellow blackbelt at the art of tapping opponents out, Marcus Aurelio, in a non-title affair.

Aurelio has won four of his last five bouts including two straight and is 20-8 in his career. Seventeen of his victories have come by way of a finishing performance, including thirteen submissions with his most notable victim being Takaonori Gomi in 2006.

His opponent, Aoki, is also 4-1 over his previous five in-ring appearances with the only loss coming to Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez this past April.

Additionally, DREAM also revealed Joachim Hansen will face Hideo Tokoro at the show, while “Lion” Takeshi Inoue will fight Kazuyuki Miyata in hopes of getting back on the winning track after a split decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at a Shooto event in May.

Similar to Miller, the 41-year old Sakuraba is not only known for being a fantastic grappler who embodies the sport’s “warrior spirit” like few others, but also as someone who has been wowing audiences throughout his career with entertaining entrances and pre-fight antics guaranteed to draw a smile on any onlooker’s face.

The man who once hid an Xbox in his pants during a weigh-in and often dons a pro-wrestling style mask en route to the ring also happens to be 26-13 with notable wins over larger competition like Kevin Randleman, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ken Shamrock, and Vitor Belfort (not to mention his domination of the Gracie family in PRIDE’s earlier years).

Miller had recently been lobbying for a bout against Strikeforce 170-pound champion Nick Diaz as a result of their in-ring altercation last April but saw the opportunity go up in smoke this week when it was announced Diaz would be fighting KJ Noons instead this October. However, the 23-7 “Mayhem” has expressed a great deal of admiration for Sakuraba in the past and shouldn’t disappoint when it comes to preparation for the grizzled veteran or matching the Japanese icon’s humorous behavior.

DREAM 16 will air on HDNet and is also scheduled to feature a bout between featherweights Joe Warren and Michihiro Omigawa, as well as Gegard Mousasi looking to win his second consecutive bout since falling via decision to “King Mo” Lawal at “Strikeforce – Nashville” earlier this year.

DREAM has long used a four cornered ring during all of their events up until this point. They have also long employed two rounds, with the first being ten minutes and the second being five, as opposed to the three five-minute rounds commonly used in the United States.

The promotion announced today that DREAM 12 will not only be the first to feature three rounds, it will also be the first event to utilize a six-sided white cage.

The event is set to take place from the Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan on October 25, and will air live on HDNet.

The main event for the card will be a lightweight bout between Eddie Alvarez and Katsunori Kikuno. Also announced for the event is another lightweight match-up Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Won Sik Park.

Today DREAM announced that the recent changes to the normal format will only take place once a year, also referencing the brand’s recent partnership with Strikeforce as a negotiating factor behind the decision to give the changes a shot.

Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza and Jason “Mayhem” Miller are slated to wage battle for the third time at a DREAM event expected to take place sometime in September.

The confirmation of the bout came through Jacare’s coach, Josuel Distak, in a recent report on TATAME.com.

“Jacaré will return to the ring in September to fight again with Jason Miller,” said Distak.

The pair are far from strangers in the ring. The first meeting between the two came during the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix in June of 2008, a bout which Souza was awarded the unanimous decision.

Most recently Jacare and Mayhem faced off in a rematch in May, this time for the DREAM middleweight title, but the contest ended in controversy after an illegal kick to the head of a downed Jacare by Miller opened a nasty cut on the Brazilian and forced the bouts conclusion. The title fight was eventually ruled a no contest.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from Kevin Iole over at Yahoo! Sports.

Just one month ago UFC President White did something almost completely unprecedented in the promotions history when he made a verbal agreement with Filipovic for a one fight deal at UFC 99. Cro Cop texted White expressing his desire to return to the UFC and initially declined on numerous opponents before finally settling on Al Turk.

It is being reported that White had also negotiated on two additional fights during a follow up two hour telephone conversation between himself and Filipovic. Those two fights will not be coming to fruition and it now seems extremely questionable if the Croatian striker would ever be welcomed back to the organization with open arms again.

“He [expletived] me,” White was quoted as saying. “The first time in the history of the company I do one over the phone. He promised me a three-fight deal and he [expletived] me.

“He didn’t keep his word. He talked about honor and all this other [expletive] and he [expletived] me.

“He fed me this bull [expletive] about wanting to take a run for the title, and what I think he did was, he went out and did this. He turned down every other [expletive] fighter I offered him, because I needed him to fight Cain. He didn’t just poke Al-Turk; he poked me, too.”

Filipovic returned to the win column after two consecutive defeats in the Octagon in his bout with Al Turk but wasn’t impressive doing so. He stumbled Al Turk with punches and eventually gouged him in the eye before the bouts inevitable conclusion.

As of this writing, who and when Cro Cop will be fighting at DREAM is a big question mark.

Sokoudjou rebounded from consecutive losses at the hands of Luiz Arthur Cane and Renato “Babalu” Sobral when he stopped the much larger Jan Nortge by TKO with a storm of punches in the first round of the DREAM Super Hulk Tournament .

The Team Quest fighter fell under a great amount of criticism after failing to cease his assault on the fallen Nortje when the referee called a halt to the action. Sokoudjou recently apologized for his actions on the latest episode of Inside MMA.

Mousasi is fresh off of his first round submission over Mark Hunt at the same Super Hulk Tournament that was held on May 26, 2009. He has gone undefeated in his last twelve straight bouts.

Recent reports have speculated that Mousasi will be facing off with Renato Sobral at the upcoming Affliction III: Trilogy event as well.

The two are scheduled to butt heads at DREAM 10 which has been scheduled for July 20.

Manhoef is without a doubt one of the most vicious finishers currently competing in the sport, finishing twenty two of his twenty three victories by either KO or TKO for an astounding 95% knockout ratio.

Not known for knocking his opponents senseless by any stretch of the imagination, Filho believes that he holds the antidote to the feared Dutch kickboxer’s poison, and that antidote does not include trading shots with Manhoef in Japan.

“He’s coming from a sequence of knockouts, nice, but I’m more complete in the MMA game,” explained Filho in a recent interview with Tatame.com. “Anyone who thinks I’ll exchange punches with him is wrong. I’ll do my game, try to take him down and define the fight where I’m good. He’s very tough but I believe that I can beat him.”

Shinya Aoki, who is coming off a knockout loss to Hayato Sakurai in the first round of the DREAM welterweight grand prix, will be returning to the lightweight division to take on Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro. Ribeiro was last seen defeating Katsuhiko Nagata on the same Dream 8 card that Aoki and Sakurai fought against one another on.

Also appearing on the card will be the return of Paulo Filho to Japan as he squares off against devastating kickboxer Melvin Manhoef.

Filho, the former Pride superstar has had his share of problems over the past year. He has dealt with substance abuse problems and suffered his first defeat when he lost to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 back in November of 2008. That bout was a rematch of their first fight which Filho won via tapout. For their second fight Filho failed to make weight and seemed somewhere else during the fight and many questioned his mental status at the time. He has since decided to move up to the light heavyweight division and will face a stiff test in Manhoef.

Manhoef has been keeping busy as he was victorious against Stefan Leko in a kickboxing match on May 16 in Amsterdam. His last MMA bout was against Mark Hunt on FEG’s K-1 Dynamite New Year’s Eve show. He defeated the much bigger Hunt via knockout in just 18 seconds. He is primarily an aggressive  stand-up fighter with extraordinary striking skills.

Also announced is a lightweight tilt between Katsunori Kikuno and Andre Amade.

Kikuno will be making his DREAM debut while Amade participated in the lightweight grand prix where he lost to Eddie Alvarez by first round TKO.

The event is scheduled for July 20 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Amade made a home for himself early in his career at the feared Chute Boxe Academy before recently making the exodus to Universidade Da Luta which is headed up by brothers Mauricio and Murilo Rua. He posseses devastating punching power in his fists and a sharp Muay-Thai game. Amade holds a decision victory over the highly regarded Caol Uno during his career and most recently suffered a TKO defeat at the hands of Eddie Alvarez in a back and forth war that took place at the very first DREAM event.

Kikuno is 11-1-1 in his career and has won his last eight straight bouts. He is seen as somewhat of a knockout artist as well, with six of his eleven victories either coming by way of knockout or TKO.

A full list of fights expected for the card are listed below:

Joachim Hansen vs. Shinya Aoki (DREAM lightweight championship)

Andre “Dida” Amade vs. Katsunori Kikuno

WELTERWEIGHT GRAND PRIX SECOND ROUND

Andre Galvao vs. Jason High

Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Marius Zaromskis

Dream 10 is set to take place on July 20 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The news was confirmed to MMAweekly.com in a report from a source close to High.

High submitted Yuya Sharai in lightning quick fashion at Dream 8 to advance in the tournament against Galvao, who made submitting a veteran like John Alessio look easy on the same evening.

Sakurai surprised many in the opening round of the tournament when he bludgeoned top ranked lightweight Shinya Aoki in mere seconds into the opening round to move on to face Zaromskis, who topped Seichi Ikemoto by unanimous decision, also at Dream 8.

Also announced for Dream 10 is a rubber match between WAMMA lightweight champion Aoki and the always dangerous Joachim Hansen.