Should we Dream a little Dream?

After Zuffa bought PRIDE FC and then dissolved the promotion, Japan and many MMA fans worldwide felt a huge hole in their collective hearts where PRIDE used to be. This of course led to a veritable clamoring of questions and opinions about how this void would be filled. Fans wondered if anybody could bring MMA back to Japan.

Then on the last day of 2007 numerous Far East MMA promotions and the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) combined to deliver Yarennoka! It was considered something of a farewell to PRIDE and of course kicked all those questions about filling the MMA void in Japan into high gear.

According to Sherdoggers (MMA fans who frequent Sherdog.com) an answer was found on February 13, 2008 when it was announced many of the former PRIDE staff formed DREAM. On a recent poll on the popular MMA site an overwhelming majority of the thousands of respondents thought DREAM was the promotion that would rekindle the old PRIDE days.

Whether this is nothing more than a dose of wishful thinking or a prophetic look into the future remains to be seen. But after DREAM 3 on May 11 at the Saitama Super Arena, the same place where Yarennoka was held and a home to PRIDE, more and more fans are becoming inclined to think of it as the latter, an accurate prediction of things to come.

DREAM 3 did deliver some compelling fights in its lightweight tournament and it was seen live by numerous American MMA fans on Mark Cuban’s HDNet. Eddie Alvarez and Joachim Hansen matched up in what turned out to be a tremendous battle, one that some are calling fight of the year. In the end Alvarez got the decision to advance.

Also advancing was Caol Uno. He looked impressive in stifling Mitsuhiro Ishida before submitting him with a rear naked choke. Afterward Tatsuya Kawajiri, who also won his fight to advance was gung-ho on challenging Uno. He said, “Hero’s, Pride, these things don’t matter. Please fight me in the next round?”

Uno didn’t jump on the offer saying, “Kawajiri is a strong fighter. However, because I’ve just got done fighting, I’ll have to return home and consider this.”

The card was also speckled with a couple other Americans. Jason “Mayhem” Miller thoroughly whipped a game Katsuyori Shibata and scored the TKO at 6:57 of round one. And Nick Diaz needed almost the same time, 6:45, to TKO Katsuya Inoue.

The night was solid, many even claim great. Maybe some of these feelings are nostalgia driven, but so what, and it also set up another exciting night later in the year when the DREAM lightweight tournament will be finished.

So all in all DREAM 3 gave former PRIDE fans a chance to dream. Was it the same as PRIDE? No, it may have a ways to go to equal those glory days, but it showed that it just might have the wherewithal to bring MMA back to Japan in a big way!