DREAM
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Overview
DREAM is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group and former PRIDE Fighting Championships executives from Dream Stage Entertainment.
DREAM is a sister promotion of K-1 kickboxing and is headed up by Keiichi Sasahara who also acts as the promotion's matchmaker.
The promotion is televised on HDNet in the United States and on TBS in Japan.
History
Following the demise of PRIDE and their buyout by UFC parent company, ZUFFA, executives from PRIDE parent company, Dream Stage Entertainment put on a collaborative show with Fighting and Entertainment Group, Shooto and M-1 Global on New Year's Eve, entitled Yarennoka!.
The event was said to act as a "farewell to PRIDE fans" but the success of the show with Japanese MMA fans pushed for FEG to abandon their floundering MMA promotion, Hero's in order to collaborate with the former DSE executives to form a new Japanese MMA promotion.
At a press conference held on February 13, 2008 the collaborative effort announced the dissolution of Hero's and that all the fighters under the Hero's banner along with PRIDE veterans, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Shinya Aoki, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mitsuhiro Ishida and Hayato Sakurai would be fighting under the new promotion which would be entitiled, DREAM.
Rules and Judging
The rules and judging for DREAM bare a lot in common with those of the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships.
Rounds
- Non-title and tournament bouts will consist of two rounds and a total fight time of 15 minutes. The first round will 10 minutes with the second being five minutes in length.
- Championship bouts will feature one 10 minute round and two five minute rounds.
Judging
- Much like PRIDE, fights are judged on their entirity by three judges.
- Each judge declares who they think won the bout, thus eliminating any chance of a draw.
Rules
DREAM for the most part shares the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts (as practiced in North American promotions e.g. UFC) however it has some notable differences such as:
- Stomps and soccer kicks are permitted to the head of their opponent if both fighters are on the ground. Otherwise, both moves are permitted to anywhere but the head.
- Elbows to the head are prohibited.
- Knees to the head of a grounded opponent are allowed if there is not a 15 kg weight difference between the fighters.
- If any rules are broken the referee will hand out a yellow card to the offending fighter(s). This will constitute a 10% deduction from their fight purse. Three yellow cards will result in the fighter's disqualfication.
- Yellow cards can also be handed out for stalling or lack of action.
Weight Classes
DREAM features six weight classes ranging from featherweight to heavyweight:
- Featherweight - 63 kg. (139 lbs.)
- Lightweight - 70 kg. (154 lbs.)
- Welterweight - 76 kg. (168 lbs.)
- Middleweight - 84 kg. (185 lbs.)
- Light Heavyweight - 93 kg. (205 lbs.)
- Heavyweight - Over 93 kg. (205 lbs.)
Current Champions
Divisional Champions
For the full history of DREAM divisional champions see List of DREAM Champions.
| Weight Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Featherweight (139 lbs.) | Vacant | N/A | N/A |
| Lightweight (154 lbs.) | Joachim Hansen | DREAM 5 - July 21, 2008 | 0 |
| Welterweight (168 lbs.) | Vacant | N/A | N/A |
| Middleweight (185 lbs.) | Vacant | Early 2009 | N/A |
| Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) | Vacant | N/A | N/A |
| Heavyweight (205+ lbs.) | Vacant | N/A | N/A |
Tournament Champions
| Year | Weight Division | Champion | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lightweight (154 lbs.) | Joachim Hansen | Shinya Aoki |
| 2008 | Middleweight (185 lbs.) | Gegard Mousasi | Ronaldo Souza |
| 2009 | Featherweight (139 lbs.) | TBD | TBD |
| 2009 | Welterweight (168 lbs.) | TBD | TBD |
Events
External Links
http://www.dreamofficial.com/ - DREAM Official Website
--Sam Cupitt 04:11, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
