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- K-1's NEW DREAM INCLUDES CRO COP
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
- by MMAWeekly.com, photo by Umeki Reiko
Fight Entertainment Group on Wednesday announced a new promotion called Dream to replace its Hero’s mixed martial arts division. The new promotion is a collaboration organized by FEG and produced former Dream Stage Entertainment staff members.
DSE was the parent company of Pride Fighting Championships.
FEG released the 2008 schedule for the new promotion, kicking things off with its March 15 date, which features a Lightweight Grand Prix. The tournament – featuring fighters in the 70-kilogram (154-pound) weight class – includes fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante, Andre “Dida” Amade, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Kotetsu Boku, Artur Oumakhanov, Caol Uno, Joachim Hansen, Gilbert Melendez, Luiz “Buscape” Firmino, Jung Bu-Kyung, and Kazuyuki Miyata. There will be a total of 16 fighters in the tournament.
The only match-up of the tournament that has been announced thus far is Aoki versus Calvancante.
With much speculation swirling about him recently, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was in attendance at the press conference where it was announced that he would now be fighting under the Dream banner. One official of the new promotion said that he was hopeful they would be able to have Filipovic fight on the March 15 event, but that they could not officially confirm it yet.
Addressing several question marks surrounding him, Filipovic stated that he is physically and mentally recovered from his recent disappointments in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He said that he didn’t really like the experience of fighting the cage and prefers fighting in a ring. Filipovic did state, however, that he would like to eventually return to the UFC and avenge his losses to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo.
Many rumors have swirled around Filipovic’s recent absence from the UFC with fingers pointing in both directions, but sources close to the situation indicate that his leaving the UFC to return to fight in Japan was amicable.
As of the time of publication, the UFC has not made an official announcement in regards to Filipovic’s contract status.
Also announced at Wednesday’s press conference were the addition of Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, although no date for their debuts was announced.
Other details forthcoming from the press conference included the promotion’s weight classes (which are extremely similar to the divisions commonly used in the UFC and most other mixed martial arts promotions) and many future dates for Dream events in 2008.
The weight classes break down as follows:
Heavyweight – 93.1 kg and above (over 205 pounds)
Light Heavyweight – Up to 93 kg (up to 205 pounds)
Middleweight – Up to 84 kg (up to 185 pounds)
Welterweight – Up to 76 kg (up to 167.5 pounds)
Lightweight – Up to 70 kg (up to 154 pounds)
The Dream 2008 schedule as announced:
March 15
HEIWA DREAM 1 – Lightweight Grand Prix Opening Round
Saitama Super Arena
April 29
OLYMPIA DREAM 2 – Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round
Saitama Super Arena
May 11
HEIWA DREAM 3 – Lightweight Grand Prix Second Round
Saitama Super Arena
Mid-June
OLYMPIA DREAM 4 – Middleweight Grand Prix Second Round
(Possibly in Korea)
July 21
HEIWA DREAM 5 – Lightweight Grand Prix Finals
Osakajo Hall
Late September
OLYMPIA DREAM 6 – Middleweight Grand Prix Finals
Saitama Super Arena
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