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Dream11

Company type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Predecessor	Pride
Founded	February 13, 2008 (2008-02-13)
Founder	Sadaharu Tanikawa (President of FEG)
Defunct	June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03); revived: October 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)
Successor	Rizin
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Keiichi Sasahara, Head and Matchmaker Daisuke Sato, Productions Director
Parent	Real Entertainment Co. Ltd.
Website	www.dreamofficial.com

Dream (styled DREAM in capitals) was a Japanese 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. It retained many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC broadcasts, including fight introducer Lenne Hardt.

They promoted over 20 shows highlighting Japanese and international talent, establishing or enhancing the careers of fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Gesias Cavalcante, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Ronaldo Jacaré, Eddie Alvarez, Jason Miller, Kazushi Sakuraba, Gegard Mousasi and Alistair Overeem.

History

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Formation

After Zuffa acquired Pride, former Dream Stage Entertainment executives put on a collaborative New Year's Eve mixed martial arts event with Shooto, M-1 Global, and the Fighting and Entertainment Group, called Yarennoka!. While the event was intended to be a farewell show for Pride, its success and further petitioning by Japanese MMA fans prompted the FEG and the DSE staff to combine their efforts and form a new promotion.

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. Another notable announcement was Dream's partnership with M-1 Global, who confirmed that they would allow the last Heavyweight Champion of Pride (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.

Partnerships

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. The promotion's later events would air as a part of the network's HDNet Fights series.

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.

On August 5, 2009, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced that the two promotions had signed a formal alliance, in-which the two organizations will exchange fighters.

On, November 23, 2011, sources close to ONE Championship announced a new alliance with Dream to copromote shows and participate in fighter exchange.

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.

The promotion's final show, "Dream.18: Special NYE 2012", was announced 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.

Rules

Weight classes

Dream had 7 weight classes. Unlike Hero's, each weight class had a champion with a defendable title.

• Bantamweight – 61 kilograms (134 lb)
• Featherweight – 65 kilograms (143 lb)
• Lightweight – 70 kilograms (154 lb)
• Welterweight – 76 kilograms (168 lb)
• Middleweight – 84 kilograms (185 lb)
• Light Heavyweight – 93 kilograms (205 lb)
• Heavyweight – no upper limit

Round length

• There were three 5-minute rounds.

Judging

• Fights were to 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 was always to be declared, as draws were not possible.

Attire

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

• Stomps and soccer kicks to the head of a grounded opponent were not allowed (unless both fighters were on the ground), but they were allowed to the rest of the body.
• Elbows to the head were prohibited.
• If there was a 15 kilograms (33 lb) or more weight difference between the fighters, knees to the head of a grounded opponent were not allowed.
• A grounded opponent was defined as one in a three-point position. If a fighter had, for example, both knees and one hand on the floor facing the mat, then no kicks to the head were allowed.
• Strikes to the back of the head were not allowed.

Tournament substitutions

• In case of a "no contest" or injury, the fighter able to continue would go through to the next round; if neither fighter was able to continue, the promoter would choose a replacement fighter to go through.

Final champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title Defenses
Heavyweight	Unlimited	Alistair Overeem	December 31, 2010 (Dynamite!! 2010)
Light Heavyweight	93 kg (205.0 lb)	Gegard Mousasi	September 25, 2010 (Dream 16)	1
Middleweight	84 kg (185.2 lb)	Gegard Mousasi	September 23, 2008 (Dream 6)
Welterweight	76 kg (167.6 lb)	Marius Zaromskis	July 20, 2009 (Dream 10)	1
Lightweight	70 kg (154.3 lb)	Shinya Aoki	October 6, 2009 (Dream 11)	2
Featherweight	65 kg (143.3 lb)	Hiroyuki Takaya	December 31, 2010 (Dynamite!! 2010)	2
Bantamweight	61 kg (134.5 lb)	Bibiano Fernandes	December 31, 2011 (Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoko 2011)	0

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 (openweight)	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

Notable fighters

Events

In America, the promotion was aired on HDNet.

Event locations

• Total event number: 24

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

• Japan (24)

Saitama – 15

Yokohama – 4

Nagoya – 2

Osaka – 2

Tokyo - 1

References

1. "K-1's new Dream includes Cro Cop". Mma Weekly. February 13, 2008. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
2. ^ Loiseleur, Tony (February 13, 2008). "'Dream' Come True?". Sherdog.com. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
3. "Mark Cuban's HDNET to air Japan's Dream". Mma Weekly. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
4. "PRO ELITE & Dream ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP". MMAWeekly. 2008. Archived from the original on May 27, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
5. "Strikeforce and Dream Formalizing "Alliance"". MMAWeekly. 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
6. "Dream, One FC Announce Deal to Co-Promote Events, Exchange Talent". mmafighting.com. November 28, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
7. "ProElite to Partner With Dream". mmafighting.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
8. FEG's bankruptcy Archived 2012-06-09 at the Wayback Machine, May 17, 2012, Muay Thai TV
9. "The Dream is Gone; Japanese MMA Promotion Runs Out of Viable Options". mmaweekly.com. June 3, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
10. Gross, Josh (October 25, 2012). "GSI fight card set for Dec. 31 in Japan". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
11. Loiseleur, Tony (2011-04-20). "'Dream: Fight For Japan' Bantamweight Tournament Bracket Set". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
12. "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. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
13. "'GLORY teams up with Dream to stage 'Dream 18 - Special NYE 2012'". GLORYWorldSeries.com. 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
14. Tony Loiseleur. "Aoki Subs Hansen; Fernandes Wins Dream GP".
15. Dream Run: Zaromskis Wins Grand Prix
16. DiPietro, Monty (March 8, 2009). "HELLO JAPAN! SHINYA AOKI WINS AT Dream 7". MMAWeekly.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.

External links

• Official website

• Dream (mixed martial arts)
• 2008 establishments in Japan
• Organizations established in 2008
• Defunct mixed martial arts promotions
• Mixed martial arts events lists
• 2012 disestablishments in Japan
• Organizations disestablished in 2012