Dream 12, NYE Notes

The week before the event takes place, the Dream promotion announced several fights that gave fuller shape to its “Cage of the Rising Sun” show on Sunday in Osaka, Japan. All fights on the card will be held in a six-sided cage and contested under three, five-minute rounds -- a first for a major MMA promotion in Japan.

Just three weeks after submitting a boxer in short order, shopworn legend Kazushi Sakuraba will be back in action, replacing an injured Melvin Manhoef against Zelg Galesic. Meanwhile, Marius Zaromskis will see action for the first time since winning the Dream welterweight grand prix when he faces Myeon Ho Bae. The bout will not be for Zaromskis’ title.

A heavyweight fight announcement created buzz about Alistair Overeem’s future in stateside competition. The Strikeforce champion will face United Kingdom slugger James Thompson at the event. It marks yet another fight for the Dutchman before he makes his first defense of the Strikeforce title he won in November 2007. Overeem toppled Tony Sylvester via first-round guillotine at an Oct. 17 event in Holland. He will compete in the next round of K-1’s World Grand Prix in December.

Overeem’s manager told MMAWeekly.com that the Dutchman signed a three-fight deal with Strikeforce in January, but a hand injury disrupted planned fights in the United States in 2009. His manager said Overeem will definitely fight in the U.S. in 2010 and would be open to defending his title against Fedor Emelianenko.

In another Japan development, the Sengoku Raiden Championships promotion confirmed it will go head-to-head with Dream on New Year’s Eve -- the biggest night in Japanese MMA. Sengoku will stage a show at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, headlined by judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii’s MMA debut against Hidehiko Yoshida. The promotion also announced several of its top fighters -- including Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitaoka and Hatsu Hioki -- will compete at the event. Specific matches are expected to be announced next week.

The move sets up a potential MMA television war on Dec. 31, reminiscent of the years when Pride Fighting Championships and K-1 went head-to-head on that night on network television. The Dream card will air on Tokyo Broadcasting System. Sengoku currently has a late-night slot on the TV-Tokyo channel, but it remains unclear if the network will carry the Dec. 31 show. It has been reported that HDNet will air the Dream show in North America, though it also broadcasts Sengoku fights.