Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) has been scheduled to headline Dream 5 on July 21 in Osaka, Japan, event producer Keiichi Sasahara announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. With a previously envisaged main event between strikers Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Pictures) and Jerome Le Banner now dissolved and a possible welterweight title fight between Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) and Nick Diaz (Pictures) not enough of an attraction, the move is seen as one to boost ticket sales.

Akiyama was originally for Dream's middleweight grand prix, which began at Dream 2 on April 29, but a nasal bone fracture threw a monkey wrench into those plans. The 32-year-old judoka has been out of action after catching a shin strike straight across the face by Kazuo Misaki (Pictures) at Yarennoka in New Year's Eve, an attack that was later deemed illegal and led to a no-contest ruling.

Akiyama's opponent has not been determined, but Sasahara told the Japanese press he will contact fighters who have participated in the middlweight tournament.

"I'd much rather take on a Japanese fighter, than a foreign opponent who has no name recognition here", said the K-1 Hero's tournament champion. "I was very impressed with [Kiyoshi] Tamura's destruction of [Masakazu] Funaki in April. Perhaps Sasahara can arrange a fight between Tamura and myself for July 21."

The multi-time Japanese judo champion is also looking forward to facing the champion of the Dream middleweight tournament on New Year's Eve.

The only fight officially announced for the July 21 event is a featherweight encounter between Japanese mega-star Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Californian Joseph Benavidez (Pictures). Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Eddie Alvarez (Pictures), Caol Uno (Pictures) and either Shinya Aoki (Pictures) or Katsuhiko Nagata (Pictures) will also complete Dream's inaugural lightweight tournament that night.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcio Corletta, Abu Dhabi World Submission Grappling gold medalist Jon Olav Einemo (Pictures), K-1 World Grand Prix winner Mark Hunt (Pictures), Pride veteran Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) and Igor Pokrajac, the main sparring partner of Filipovic, have been tipped to participate in super fights.