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 (styledDREAM in capitals) was aJapanesemixed martial arts (MMA) organization promoted by formerPRIDE FC executives andK-1 promoterFighting 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 introducerLenne Hardt.

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

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AfterZuffa acquired Pride, formerDream Stage Entertainment executives put on a collaborativeNew Year's Eve mixed martial arts event withShooto,M-1 Global, and theFighting and Entertainment Group, calledYarennoka!. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 championsNorifumi "Kid" Yamamoto,Yoshihiro Akiyama andJZ Calvan) to be part of the new promotion along with the additions ofMirko "Cro Cop" Filipović,Shinya Aoki,Kazushi Sakuraba,Mitsuhiro Ishida, andHayato "Mach" Sakurai.^[1] Another notable announcement was Dream's partnership withM-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.^[2]

On May 2, 2008, Dream aired for the first time in the United States with a repeat ofDream 1 onHDNet. A repeat ofDream 2 was aired the following day, whileDream 3 was aired live on May 11. The promotion's later events would air as a part of the network'sHDNet Fights series.^[3]

On May 10, 2008, Dream announced the working partnership with US promotionEliteXC. The two groups intended to share fighters and eventually co-promote shows. However, with EliteXC went bankrupt before the alliance could materialize.^[4]

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.^[5]

On, November 23, 2011, sources close toONE Championship announced a new alliance with Dream to copromote shows and participate in fighter exchange.^[6]

On January 17, 2012ProElite announced a partnership with Dream to copromote shows and exchange fighters.^[7]

On May 16, 2012, Sadaharu Tanikawa officially declared the bankruptcy of FEG.^[8] 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.^[9]

The promotion's final show, "Dream.18: Special NYE 2012", was announced for December 31, 2012, under the financial backing of kickboxing promotionGlory 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.^[10]

Dream had 7 weight classes. Unlike Hero's, each weight class had a champion with a defendable title.^[2]

• Bantamweight – 61 kilograms (134 lb)^[11]
• 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

• There were three 5-minute rounds.

• 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.

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 usetape on parts of their body or to wear agi 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

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

InAmerica, the promotion was aired onHDNet.^[12]

• Total event number: 24

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

• Japan (24)

• 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

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