Dream (mixed martial arts)


Dream was a Japanese mixed martial arts 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 retained many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC broadcasts, including fight introducer Lenne Hardt. In America, the promotion was aired on HDNet. They 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, Gesias Cavalcante, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Ronaldo Jacaré, Eddie Alvarez, Jason Miller, Kazushi Sakuraba, Gegard Mousasi and Alistair Overeem.

History

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.

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 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. Another notable announcement was Dream's partnership with M-1 Global, who confirmed that they would allow the last Heavyweight Champion of Pride FC, Fedor Emelianenko, to fight in their events. Emelianenko was present at the Dream press conference to promote the alliance between the two shows.

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.

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 went bankrupt before the alliance could materialize.

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. 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 Strikeforce.

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.

Partnership with ProElite

On January 17, 2012 ProElite announced a partnership with DREAM to copromote shows and exchange fighters.

Cease of business operations

On May 16, 2012, Sadaharu Tanikawa officially declared the bankruptcy of FEG. The promotion began to be managed by its proper parental company Real Entertainment Co. Ltd. and as of June 3, 2012, Dream has effectively gone out of business.

Revival show

A revival show dubbed "Dream.18: Special NYE 2012" was set for December 31, 2012 under the financial backing of kickboxing promotion Glory Sports International. The event promoted mixed martial arts and kickboxing bouts at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, carrying on the tradition of fight events every New Year's Eve for at least one more year.

Rules

Weight classes

Dream had 7 weight classes. Unlike Hero's, each weight class had a champion with a defendable title.
It was announced that in 2011 Dream will create a new Bantamweight class at 61 kg, and the Featherweight class will be raised to 65 kg.

Round length

Dream allowed fighters latitude in their choice of attire, but open finger gloves, a mouthguard and a protective cup were mandatory. Fighters were 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 had to be checked by the referee before the fight.

Fouls and violations

DivisionUpper weight limitChampionSinceTitle Defenses
Heavyweight Alistair OvereemDecember 31, 2010
Light Heavyweight Gegard MousasiSeptember 25, 2010 1
Middleweight Gegard MousasiSeptember 23, 2008
Welterweight Marius ZaromskisJuly 20, 2009 1
Lightweight Shinya AokiOctober 6, 2009 2
Featherweight Hiroyuki TakayaDecember 31, 2010 2
Bantamweight Bibiano FernandesDecember 31, 2011 0

Tournament Finalists

Notable fighters

Bantamweight

#Event TitleDateArenaLocationAttendeesBroadcast
24Dream 18Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan10,651SkyPerfect
23Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan24,606Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
22Dream 17Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan9,270HDNet
21Ariake ColiseumTokyo, Japan8,142HDNet
20Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan6,522HDNet
19Dynamite!! 2010Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan26,729Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
18Dream 16Nippon Gaishi HallNagoya, Aichi, Japan9,304Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
17Dream 15Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan13,028Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
16Dream 14Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan12,712Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
15Dream 13Yokohama ArenaYokohama, Kanagawa, Japan13,712Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
14Fields Dynamite!! The Power of Courage 2009Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan45,606Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
13Dream 12: Cage of DreamsOsaka-jo HallOsaka, Osaka, Japan10,112Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
12Dream 11: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Final RoundYokohama ArenaYokohama, Kanagawa, Japan14,039Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
11Dream 10: Welterweight Grand Prix 2009 Final RoundSaitama, Saitama, JapanSaitama Super Arena11,970Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
10Dream 9: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Second RoundYokohama ArenaYokohama, Kanagawa, Japan15,009Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
9Dream 8: Welterweight Grand Prix 2009 First RoundNippon Gaishi HallNagoya, Aichi, Japan9,129Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
8Dream 7: Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 First RoundSaitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan19,528Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
7Fields Dynamite!! 2008Saitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan25,634Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet
6Dream 6: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 Final RoundSaitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan20,929SkyPerfect; HDNet
5Dream 5: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final RoundOsaka-jo HallOsaka, Osaka, Japan11,986SkyPerfect; HDNet
4Dream 4: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 Second RoundYokohama ArenaYokohama, Kanagawa, Japan14,037SkyPerfect; HDNet
3Dream 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Second RoundSaitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan21,789SkyPerfect; HDNet
2Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First RoundSaitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan21,397SkyPerfect; HDNet
1Dream 1: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 First RoundSaitama Super ArenaSaitama, Saitama, Japan19,120Tokyo Broadcasting System; HDNet

Event locations

These cities have hosted the following numbers of Dream events as of Dream 18: