GLORY 4 and DREAM 18 have merged and they are partnering up for a huge upcoming NYE card that will feature several MMA bouts along with what is probably the best Heavyweight kickboxing tournament in years.
During the earlier announcement of the revival of DREAM, officials have mentioned a few participants on the card such as Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hiroyuki Takaya, and Satoru Kitaoka. Several matches have been finalized since then, and on the MMA side of things, sources close to the fighters have informed BloodyElbow.com that UFC and ONE FC vet, Phil Baroni will be taking on fellow PRIDE standout, Hayato Sakurai.
The ‘NYBA’ was originally scheduled to compete at GLORY 4 against Pancrase welterweight champ, Takenori Sato, until the move to NYE also led to a change in opponent. Baroni is coming off a huge soccer kick TKO win at ONE FC 5, while Mach was last seen on the 2011 year-ender where he defeated Ryo Chonan.
Also rumored for the event, is Shinya Aoki taking on an undefeated, yet relatively unknown fighter in Will Brooks (7-0). Brooks has been competing in regional promotions in the US, and recently said on a tweet that has since been deleted, “Got the best news last night I’m so jacked about this. Will Brooks vs. Shinya Aoki in Dream this New Years in Japan yea it’s going down”.
On the kickboxing side of the card, a 16-man heavyweight tournament has been set after the random draws have been made for the top 8 seeds. Top kickboxers such as Semmy Schilt, Remy Bonjasky, Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghita, and Peter Aerts, will all be participating on this ‘GLORY Grand Slam Tournament’, making it the biggest of its kind in recent years.
Check out the current rumored fight card:
DREAM.18 – GLORY 4 NYE Special 2012
December 31, 2012 — Saitama Super Arena, JapanMMA Rules:
– Tatsuya Kawajiri
– Hiroyuki Takaya [DREAM FW Championship]
– Satoru Kitaoka
– Phil Baroni vs. Hayato Sakurai
– Shinya Aoki vs. Will Brooks*GLORY Grand Slam Tournament:
– Semmy Schilt vs. Brice Guidon
– Sergei Kharitonov vs. Rico Verhoeven
– Gokhan Saki vs. Raomoru
– Anderson “Braddock” Silva vs. Igor Jurkovic
– Remy Bonjasky Filip Verlinden
– Errol Zimmerman Jamal Ben Saddick
– Peter Aerts vs. Mourad Bouzidi
– Daniel Ghita vs. Fabiano Aoki* – Unconfirmed
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