A lightweight bout has been added to the upcoming DREAM card. DEEP 155-pound champion Katsunori Kikuno, who has recently made residence with the budding Japanese organization in DREAM, will be returning to action come this May when he will be taking on PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran, Daisuke Nakamura. The event in question, DREAM 17, will be the organization's first foray back into the fighting world since their last event in December of last year, "Dynamite!! 2010". Since then, however, Japan (the organization's base country) has since been ravaged by several natural disasters which have left the country in ruins with damages totaling in the billions. The event will coincide with several charities which will help benefit the relief efforts in trying to salvage and rebuild the "land of the rising sun". ...

While Japan has seen better days, with the country having recently been ravaged by tsunamis and earthquakes galore, one thing remains strong, and that is the mixed martial arts community. We've seen that first with the recent Strikeforce event, where three of Japan's best participated on the card, with DREAM's featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya, lightweight champion Shinya Aoki, and perennial contender Tatsuya Kawajiri all in action. Though the participants left the the event with mixed results, with Shinya Aoki the only one emerging victorious with a first-round submission win over lightweight prospect Lyle Beerbohm, DREAM hopes to give an extra push towards Japan's relief efforts by holding their May event side by side with various charities. And said event will also feature the organization's inaugural bantamweight grand-prix, which will feature many notable fighters. ...

Deep 50, which was a historic event in the promotion's history, went without a cinch. Largely unknown to the uneducated fan, but Deep has become a staple in the Japanese MMA movement for years. Made evident by it's home grown star, Shinya Aoki, the promotion has helped produce some of Japan's greatest rising stars and has cemented it's place in the Japanese mixed martial arts industry, especially with Saturday's night of fights. (or Sunday morning, depending on where you are) The promotion was in rare form, when it was able to secure some of the biggest names in the sport for one night, and what a night it was. ...

Bellator lightweight champion is a force to reckoned with in his weight class. After an illuminated run in Japan, where Alvarez has picked up some of the biggest wins of his career, which includes victories over the likes of former DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen, former Shooto champion Tatsuya Kawajiri and current DEEP lightweight champion Katsunori Kikuno. Not impressed? En route to Bellator gold, he was able to submit all three of his opponents, including the heralded Toby Imada, a Jiu-Jitsu whiz who became an internet sensation with his inverted triangle choke over lightweight notable Jorge Masvidal, which garnered Imada the "Submission of the Year" on several publications, including a trophy award at the 2009 World MMA Awards, hosted by Fighters Only. So when Alvarez, 26, heard word that Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez has called him out on numerous occasions, the Philly fighter didn't take too kindly to it. ...

After years in the fight game, becoming one of the corner stones for Japanese MMA, mixed martial arts promotion Deep will hold its 50th event on October 24, celebrating it's 10 year anniversary at the Tokyo JCB Hall, in Tokyo, Japan. A bevy of some of the most notable fighters will grace the card, including DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki, who will be returning to Deep after a 6 year absence from the promotion that gave him his start as a professional mixed martial artist. ...

The fight everyone wanted to see, is back in business. Eddie Alvarez, the reigning and defending Bellator lightweight champion and DREAM veteran, will be facing UFC veteran and now-internet-sensation, Roger Huerta at Bellator 33. ...

Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" BJ Penn (14-5-1) will defend his titles from unranked, but popular The Ultimate Fighter 1 champion “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-2) at UFC 107 at the FedExForum in Memphis December 12, the UFC officially announced Tuesday. ...

As rumored, Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez (16-2) and DEEP champ Katsunori Kikuno (5-0) will fight at DREAm.12 in Osaka October 25, DREAM officially confirmed Tuesday. ...

A matchup between Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez (16-2) and rising Japanese talent Katsunori Kikuno (5-0) is on the table for DREAM 12 in Osaka 25 October, MMA Weekly reported Thursday. Fighters.com has not confirmed the story and MMA Weekly reported that Bellator matchmaker Matt Stansell said he'd only heard a rumor about the matchup, but had received nothing official from DREAM. MMA Weekly's source is anonymous. According to the report, Alvarez would be "traded" to DREAM for the matchup versus Kikuno in exchange for a fighter contracted to DREAM fighting on a Bellator card. ...

Former WEC middleweight champion "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-1) tapped "Marvelous" Melvin Manhoef (22-6-1) in an armbar at 2:36 of round one and lightweight "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (18-4) won a unanimous decision over "Shaolin" vitor Ribeiro (20-2) at DREAM.10 in Saitama, north of Tokyo, Monday.

Lithuanian "Whitemare" Marius Zaromskis (12-2) upset "Mach" Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) and Jason High (7-2) both with fight-ending head kicks to win the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Returning to Japan after an odd stint in the WEC and returning to MMA after nine months off, Filho was rusty and lucky to exploit the chink that has resulted in three of Manhoef's six losses: the armbar.
...