FEG (Japan’s Fighting and Entertainment Group), announced last evening the long-rumored bantamweight grand prix event, which will begin May 29th in Saitama, Japan. The tournament’s official title is “DREAM Japan Grand Prix” and the card will more than likely feature (in alphabetical order): Keisuke Fujiwara, Masakazu Imanari, Yoshiro Maeda, Kenji Osawa, Takafumi Otsuka, Hideo Tokoro, Darren Uyenoyama and Atsushi Yamamoto.
The tournament’s first two rounds will occur next month, with the final taking place in July. The best 3 of these 8 fighters will lock up a secured spot in the planned DREAM bantamweight grand prix.
We’ve documented DREAM’s run-ins with the Yakuza and financial difficulties in the past, so to hear that MMA in Japan might not be as dead as once expected is great news.
