Alvarez vs Kikuno Set For Dream.12

by Robert Sargent

In the promotion's first event inside a (white) cage, DREAM will feature a battle of champions at Dream.12 when Bellator Fighting Championships Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez takes on DEEP Lightweight Champion Katsunori Kikuno.

Alvarez, known mostly for his striking, has won three straight fights by submission since his quick and disappointing loss to Shinya Aoki at K-1 "Dynamite!!"

Winning the inaugural Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, Alvarez (18-2-0) rebounded after an unfortunate injury prevented him from competing in the finals of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix in 2008. Alvarez's friend, Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen, went on to win the DREAM tournament and plans were made for Alvarez to face Hansen again at a future DREAM event.

Of Alvarez's 18 victories, all but two have come by stoppage, with all but the three recent submissions coming by a form of knockout or tapout due to strikes. His punching power is among the most impressive in the division, but Alvarez has worked diligently to improve the other areas of his game and it has showed.

Kikuno (12-1-1) has not lost since dropping a Unanimous Decision to Yukinari Tamura back in early 2006. He has won nine fights in a row, including stoppage victories over former DREAM prospect Bu Kyung Jung and 2007 HERO's Middleweight Grand Prix Finalist Andre "Dida" Amade.

With seven victories coming via knockout, Kikuno is no stranger to stand-up battles and that is exactly what he will face when he takes on Alvarez. For the first time in the promotion's history, the event will take place inside a cage; an aptly-coloured white one, at that.


In other action at Dream.12, Cage Force Lightweight Champion Kuniyoshi Hironaka will face rising South Korean star Won Sik Park. Hironaka (15-6-0) won the title with a first-round TKO of Yoshihiro Koyama, while Park (7-1-1) has reigned undefeated since losing his pro debut in 2006 and holds six wins by stoppage.

Others expected on the card include Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem, DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius "The Whitemare" Zaromskis, Paulo "Ely" Filho, Yoshiro Maeda, Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Kiyoshi Tamura, top prospect Andrews Nakahara and another rising star from South Korea, Myeon Ho Bae.


The promotion has announced plans to hold one event per year inside the cage, with the use of three five-minute rounds during the caged event. Traditional events using the ring will still employ the two-round system wherein the first round lasts ten minutes and the second round lasts five.

Dream.12 takes place on October 25th at Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan.