With only 10 days left before the event which will crown their new promotion’s first-ever Grand Prix champion, FEG have updated the official DREAM.5 site with some interesting undercard bouts now bolstering what was already sure to be a solid night (er, Tuesday morning) of fights.
– As rumored earlier this week, Yoshihiro Akiyama will square off against Katsuyori Shibata in a middlweight bout, after Shibata challenged the Hero’s vet during last week’s Akasaka Fight Festival.
– Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen will face Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill in a reserve bout for the Lightweight Grand Prix, in the event that one of the semifinal winners cannot continue after their match. Both were previously eliminated from the tournament by fighters now in the semifinals: Gill in the opening round by Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Hansen in the quarterfinals by Eddie Alvarez.
– Kuniyoshi Hironaka will see his first action since being released from his UFC contract in May. Hironaka, who ran up against some stiff competition in the States and most recently suffered a heartbreaking TKO loss to Jonathan Goulet at UFC 83, is set to face 4-0 Greatest Common Multiple standout Motoki Miyazawa.
– According to Nightmare of Battle, Mark Hunt has also been announced as a participant.
[UPDATE – 07/11/08 – 04:59 EST]
Mark Hunt has confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that his DREAM.5 opponent will be none other than old K-1 rival Jerome LeBanner. The two will clash in an MMA rules bout. Curiously, LeBanner was originally scheduled to take on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic on the card, but LeBanner pulled out of the match in order to take a K-1 fight against Semmy Schilt.