Vote On The DREAM Match Ups

With the first two rounds of the DREAM lightweight tournament, and the first round of the middleweight tournament out of the way, DREAM officials are looking to the next round of fights, and they want your help. The links below take you to the DREAM site (translated into english) for you to vote on who should fight who.

Please go to the links below to vote for your DREAM matchups (pardon the pun there, it was a cheap shot)

Middleweight

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.dreamofficial.com/special/vote/middle.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.dreamofficial.com/special/vote/middle.html%26hl%3Den

Lightweight

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.dreamofficial.com/special/vote/light.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.dreamofficial.com/special/vote/light.html%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Other fights rumored for the DREAM 5 include

Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic vs. Jerome Le Banner

Nick Diaz vs. Hayato Sakurai

Sergei Kharitonov vs. TBA

Other names that have been suggested include Mark Hunt and Aleksander Emelianenko.

We will keep you posted as more fights are announced, and please make sure to vote using the links above.

Diaz And Miller Comment On DREAM Matchups

With the last DREAM event out of the way, fighters Nick Diaz and Jason " Mayhem" Miller are looking to their next fights with mixed feelings.

Nick Diaz has stated that he would love to be fighting Shinya Aoki in the next round of the tournament, rather than his scheduled opponent Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, for the Welterwight Championship. Here is what Diaz had to say:

“You know, there’s a lot of other people I’d like to fight, just considering Mach Sakurai is a lot older than I am,” Diaz said. “He’s probably in his late 30s I’d imagine, so I’m going to have a lot of respect for him and everything he’s done. I tend to do better with people I have less respect for. To be honest, I’d rather be fighting Shinya Aoki or Kawajiri — somebody other than the guy that got knocked out by someone I already beat [Gomi]."

“I know the only way to win is not care to win or lose,” he said. “That’s why I’m not afraid of anybody and why I want to fight the best. I think Shinya Aoki is the best fighter here. I want to fight this guy — I think I can beat him."

Jason "Mayhem" Miller's opponent in the next leg will be Zelg Galesic, although Miller is not entirely happy with the choice. Miller had this to say:

“My biggest dream ever was to fight Sakuraba,” Miller said. “He was my hero growing up. I’m lucky that in my business, I’m allowed to beat my heroes up in the same way I beat my dad up now.

“Sakuraba is my hero, and the prospect of being able to fight my hero is huge. It’s my dream, and hopefully I can accomplish my dream here. I’m happy that we’re in the tournament at the same time. No matter who they put in front of me, I want to defeat them in the most exciting manner possible. I’ve never seen Sakuraba tap out.”

RUMOR: Aoki Possibly Unable to Continue in DREAM Tournament

It is widely believed that Shinya Aoki may have sustained an injury in yesterday's fight, forcing him out of the next round of the tournament.

Aoki reportedly suffered a facial injury which may need treatment. If this is the case, he will not be cleared to fight at the next stage. It is thought that Gesias "JZ" Calvancante, who Aoki fought when he received this injury, has been asked to replace him, but has not agreed to terms with the promotion.

We are still searching for citation for these rumors, and will bring you an update as soon as we get it.

Dream Loses Prime Time Slot

New Japanese promotion Dream have announced that their shows will no longer be aired on Tokyo Broadcasting Systems Prime Time slots. In the aftermath of their first show, which gained very poor viewing figures for TBS, it looks like things aren't getting any easier.

Their shows will now be aired on Pay Per View, in an astonishing six hour broadcast. TBS will broadcast the April 29th event in 1 hour portions a week later, in aternoon and late night slots.

Dream hope that the Pay Per View broadcasts will be well received by fans, as they will be able to view the whole show, rather than a heavily edited version. Only time will tell how this new scheme will work out for the already troubled young promotion.