Dream.5 Tournament Matches Chosen

by Robert Sargent

As part of a random drawing during Dream.4, the semi-finalists in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix drew their Dream.5 opponents. The final two bouts will see Eddie Alvarez battle Tatsuya Kawajiri while Caol Uno takes on Shinya Aoki.

The tournament semi-finals and finals at Dream.5 are set to take place on July 25th at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan, and will air live on HDNet Fights in North America.

Alvarez is coming off of a thrilling decision victory over Joachim Hansen at Dream.3, in what was easily a Fight of the Year candidate. Kawajiri competed at Dream.3 as well, also winning by decision in a dominant performance over Luis "Buscape" Firmino.

Uno made an impressive comeback to competition at Dream.3, submitting the ever-tough Mitsuhiro Ishida with a rear naked choke in the second round of their fight. Fans in Japan anxiously awaited a fight between Uno and Ishida's training partner, Kawajiri, but will only get to see the bout if both are victorious in their semi-final bouts.

Aoki earned his spot in the semi-finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix by defeating Katsuhiko Nagata with an incredible Gogoplata from mount position at Dream.4, putting everyone on notice that his submission game is constantly evolving and not to be toyed with.

The Grand Prix bouts are poised to be extremely exciting, as the talent-rich tournament comes to a close.

Also on the card, featherweight phenom Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto will return to competition, taking on undefeated Joseph Benavidez.


Dream.5 and Dream.6 are set to be two of the greatest events in MMA history, and the tournament semi-finals in both weight classes feature very intriguing bouts.