Aoki v Alvarez not Akiyama, Hunt v LeBanner At Dynamite!!

The FEG officially added two more DREAM-rules bouts Wednesday to their New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! card.

Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked lightweight “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (15-3) will face third-ranked Eddie Alvarez (13-1), and heavyweight Mark Hunt (5-2) will face Jerome LeBanner (4-1-1).

A fight with Aoki had been offered to fifth-ranked middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-2), but he decided not to fight at all NYE.

“I’m tired of negotiating with [Akiyama],” said FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa.

“He doesn’t understand what fans expect from him and his position.  I don’t know the reason why he turned down the offer.  I’m very disappointed in him.”

Aoki last fought at DREAM.6 in September, submitting “Maniac” Todd Moore (10-3) with a neck crank in round one.

Alvarez made it to the Lightweight Grand Prix finals at DREAM.5 in July with a first-round TKO of “Crusher” Tatsuya Kawajiri (23-5), but was unable to compete due to injury.

Alvarez is also scheduled to fight a yet-to-be-announced opponent 23 January at Extreme Challenge in Atlantic City.

Hunt has lost three consecutive fights, submitting to “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem’s (27-10) keylock at DREAM.5.  The other two losses were to Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) and seventh-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (19-5).

LeBanner most recently fought in March 2006 when he KO’d “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (12-8) in the first round.