Amidst rumours of financial troubles, Fight and Entertainment Group (FEG) is still poised to put on a solid night of fights at Dream.16 on September 25th. HDNet’s Andrew Simon announced three confirmed fights today including the finals of the DREAM Light Heavyweight Grand Prix between Gegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi and Tatsuya Mizuno.
Also included will be a middleweight matchup between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba. Bellator tournament winner Joe Warren will face Michihiro Omigawa in featherweight action.
Mousasi (29-3-1) advanced to the finals of the DREAM tournament with a quick submission victory over UFC outcast “Irish” Jake O’Brien at Dream.15 in July. The fight was Mousasi’s first since losing the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in April. He had previously won 15 straight fights and became DREAM Middleweight Champion in 2008 before he later moved up in weight and relinquished his title. All but two of his victories have come by way of stoppage.
He will face the tournament’s dark horse in Mizuno (8-5-0), who shockingly upset Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef on the same Dream.15 card. Mizuno, once little more than a journeyman, has won three straight fights and all eight of his wins have come by knockout or submission. He rallied from early danger against Manhoef before submitting him in the latter half of round one. He will face yet another tough test in the tournament final bout, but an upset victory over Mousasi would be huge.
Miller (23-7-0, 1 NC), a former ICON Sport Middleweight Champion, campaigned unsuccessfully for titles in both DREAM and Strikeforce last year. A rematch with Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, contested for Mousasi’s vacated DREAM Middleweight Championship, ended in a No Contest and Miller dropped a competitive decision to former Strikeforce champ Jake Shields in November. He rebounded with a quick win over Tim Stout at Strikeforce: Nashville in April, but was involved in a post-event brawl on national television and has not competed since.
He will now face an idol in Sakuraba (26-13-1, 2 NC), a legend in Japan whose career is in the twilight stages. Sakuraba rose to fame in the former Pride Fighting Championships and holds wins over four members of the Gracie family, but has lost three of his last five fights. He is still revered in Japan and remains one of DREAM’s top draws even though his best days are behind him. A victory over Miller could put Sakuraba back in the DREAM title picture.
Warren (5-1-0) made his MMA debut last March and advanced all the way to the semi-finals of the 2009 DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix. Along the way, the Greco-Roman wrestling standout shocked the world by upsetting Japanese megastar Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, but he fell victim to an armbar in the tournament semi-finals against Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes. Warren has since won three straight fights and became Bellator Season Two Featherweight Tournament Champion in the process.
In Omigawa (11-8-1), he faces a former also-ran who has now won seven of his last eight fights and nearly captured the Sengoku Featherweight Championship last year. Omigawa famously engaged in a trio of fights in 2009 that ended in Split Decisions, with Omigawa edging both Marlon Sandro and Hatsu Hioki in highly controversial fashion. Nonetheless, the Yoshida Dojo standout has revived his career and a convincing victory over Warren would send a message to the world.
Dream.16 takes place on September 25th at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)