Dream promoter Fighting & Entertainment Group announced Friday four additional bouts for its May 11 card.
The eighth and final first-round fight in the promotion's middleweight grand prix will be a battle of two professional wrestlers. Japanese fighter
Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures) will drop from heavyweight to middleweight to take on former Icon Sport middleweight champion
Jason Miller.
In a reserve match for the 185-pound tournament, Dutch knockout machine
Melvin Manhoef (Pictures) will meet Korean judoka
Dae Won Kim (Pictures). Manhoef, who turns 32 on the eve of the event, has racked up all of his wins in Japan by knockout. However, Kim also gained some notoriety last October with a doctor stoppage over
Marcelo Garcia (Pictures).
In a title eliminator for the newly created Dream welterweight championship,
Nick Diaz (Pictures) will get a chance to reverse his recent misfortunes as he squares off against former King of Pancrase
Katsuya Inoue (Pictures).
Diaz is coming off a tough TKO loss to
Karl James Noons (Pictures) last November. His March fight against
Jae Suk Lim (Pictures) was cancelled by the California State Athletic Commission, which said he had not turned in his medical information in time.
Inoue recently moved down to lightweight after compiling a 16-5-2 record at 165 pounds between 2003 and 2007. He only managed a draw, however, in April against Russian sambo fighter
Djamal Kurbanov (Pictures).
The winner of the Diaz-Inoue bout is expected to get a shot at
Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) for the welterweight belt, either at Dream 5 in July or at Dream 6 in September.
Also, a lightweight fight between Pride Bushido veteran
Daisuke Nakamura (Pictures) and Korean judo ace
Bu Kyung Jung (Pictures) was announced. Nakamura recently impressed in a decision victory over Russian submission fighter
Juri Ivlev in St. Petersburg.
Jung, although without a win in two attempts in MMA so far, will get another chance after gutsy performances against two of Japan's lightweight stars,
Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures).
Shooto and Deep veteran
Takeshi Yamazaki (Pictures) is also scheduled to compete in a featherweight bout.