At the press conference DREAM held to officially unveil the blueprint of the new hexagonal cage, two lightweight contests were also announced for DREAM 12, which will take place on Oct. 25 at Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan.
Bellator lightweight champion and consensus top 10-ranked 155-pound standout, Eddie Alvarez (18-2), will square off with DEEP lightweight champion, Katsunori Kikuno (12-1-1). Newly minted Cage Force lightweight champion, Kuniyoshi Hironaka (15-6), is also set to take on South Korean prospect, Won Sik Park (7-1-1).
Alvarez last fought for DREAM on the New Year’s Eve show, sustaining a submission loss against Shinya Aoki. Quickly bouncing back from the second loss of his career, he entered the lightweight tourney in the inaugural season of Bellator Fighting Championship. As an overwhelming favorite, he dismantled Greg Loughran, Eric Reynolds, and Toby Imada — all three victories via submission — to capture the lightweight crown.
Katsunori Kikuno, a Kyokushin karateka and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka protege, parlayed his success in Japan’s DEEP promotion to an emphatic DREAM debut. At DREAM 10, he defeated Chute Boxe prospect, Andres Amade, via first-round technical knockout.
UFC veteran Kuniyoshi Hironaka has recently captured the lightweight title in Cage Force. Competing for the title that was vacated by the newly minted Sengoku champion, Mizuto Hirota, Hironaka rose to the occasion, capturing the first pro title of his career.
Park, a South Korean prospect, has cut his teeth in Japan’s DEEP and MARS. Since losing his pro debut, he has been riding an eight-fight undefeated streak.
DREAM 12 will feature another South Korean prospect, Myeon Ho Bae (8-4). He will join a star-studded cast of fighters scheduled for the card, including Alistair Overeem, Marius Zaromskis, Paulo Filho, Yoshiro Maeda, Murilo Rua and Kiyoshi Tamura.
Stay tuned to MMA mania for further information regarding the historic DREAM 12 fight card.