Dream is no more

[MARKBNLV]

Sad i really wanted them to be a haven for fighters cut from the ufc roster.
The struggling Japanese MMA scene took another hit over the weekend, as word emerged that the country’s last remaining major promotion is no longer.

Multiple sources close to the situation Sunday confirmed to Sherdog.com that Dream, the spiritual successor to Pride Fighting Championships, has ceased day-to-day operations. The news comes just weeks after former parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) declared bankruptcy in Tokyo District Court. MMA-Japan.com first reported the news.

Since its 2008 founding by FEG and former Pride staff from Dream Stage Entertainment, the magnitude and frequency of Dream events had declined, as had the general interest in MMA amongst the Japanese fan base. Rumors of the company’s impending demise had circulated for the better part of two years due to waning ratings and reported financial difficulties, and only increased with Dream’s conspicuous absence in the first half of 2012.

Real Entertainment, the company which operated Dream, last month told Sherdog that they were still in the process of planning Dream 18, which had been tentatively set for July at Saitama Super Arena. Last week, however, news broke that several of Real’s top employees had resigned from the organization. According to a report from MMAWeekly.com, Dream had hoped to stage its annual New Year’s Eve show at Saitama Super Arena, but that date was contingent on the now-canceled July event taking place.

Despite the loss of staff and apparent death of Dream, Real Entertainment may not be finished with MMA altogether. One source informed Sherdog that the company is eying a summer 2013 return to Saitama and has offered some of Dream’s top talent purses upwards of $40,000 to fight on the card.

Another organization looking to run shows at Saitama Super Arena is One Fighting Championship, the Singapore-based upstart which last fall formed an alliance with Dream. Several Dream fighters -- including Tatsuya Kawajiri, Melvin Manhoef and Masakazu Imanari -- appeared on One FC’s March card, and a source close to One FC tells Sherdog that the promotion will likely sign much of Dream’s remaining talent.

Dream representatives attended the 2012 One Asia MMA Summit in Singapore this weekend and reportedly discussed the possibility of One FC staging events at Saitama Super Arena.

Real Entertainment has yet to issue a public statement regarding the state of Dream.

[RIZO24]

This sucks i enjoyed watching all the Dream events!!

[-Swizzy-]

just more proof that the UFC is way too big for anyone to compete with them. Only org that had a chance was PRIDE back in the day. Had they stayed clean and not sold that company, they would be giving UFC a run for their money even today.

Only Bellator stands a chance right now after being sold to Viacom but it doesn't look like Viacom is interested in investing a lot of capital into their mma company.

[Cloud]

Pride was awesome.

The demise of Major MMA promotions in Japan has been coming though. Pro Wrestling, especially the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, has been growing once again. Pride pretty much dumped wrestling's popularity in the bin during the late 90's and early 2000's.

As a Japanese wrestling fan, I'm happy that it's back in the limelight again. However, I'm sad because Dream and Sengoku were cool. DEEP isn't bad.

Sumo (which I am a huge fan of) and Baseball were never really harmed IIRC. Boxing is rising in popularity again too.

[Mugicha]

Originally Posted by kswizzy99

just more proof that the UFC is way too big for anyone to compete with them. Only org that had a chance was PRIDE back in the day. Had they stayed clean and not sold that company, they would be giving UFC a run for their money even today.

Only Bellator stands a chance right now after being sold to Viacom but it doesn't look like Viacom is interested in investing a lot of capital into their mma company.

Not really proof of anything of the sort. Dream and UFC were never really competitors. Dream was just horribly mismanaged pretty much. Also, interest in MMA in Japan has very much waned.

However, more or less as in the case of Pride, once the TV deal went away their days were numbered. You can support smaller shows with gate revenues, but not the big shows. It was pretty odd for that last year how Dream was televised live in the US, yet not in Japan. The final straw was probably the NYE show, which wasn't televised in Japan either. The NYE show has long been a huge event in Japan, going head to head with several other big TV programs on that night. It's no coincidence that the non-televised show was also apparently Dream's last show (they had tried to get a TV deal, but they all fell through--who knows why, it was surely worthy. Probably something beneath the surface I'd suppose.)

This is devastating though, and I really enjoyed going to Dream events. I hope something will come up by this December, whether an MMA event or K-1 or something. I'd settle for a big boxing card as well even.

[Mugicha]

Originally Posted by Cloud

Pride was awesome.

The demise of Major MMA promotions in Japan has been coming though. Pro Wrestling, especially the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, has been growing once again. Pride pretty much dumped wrestling's popularity in the bin during the late 90's and early 2000's.

As a Japanese wrestling fan, I'm happy that it's back in the limelight again. However, I'm sad because Dream and Sengoku were cool. DEEP isn't bad.

Sumo (which I am a huge fan of) and Baseball were never really harmed IIRC. Boxing is rising in popularity again too.

Sumo's been rocked by all sorts of scandals.

The most serious being bout fixing (going back many years). They cancelled a tournament not long ago because of bout fixing among lower ranked wrestlers as well. I think it was quite possibly a saving face maneuver, and I think that the officials have long known about, and in some cases possibly even been involved.

However, there was also an illegal gambling scandal (related to baseball betting if I'm not mistaken). And, several wrestlers were forced to retire due to marijuana usage (which doesn't bother me, but is a big deal in Japan, especially for sumo which is supposedly honorable--such is the image they seek to uphold that is to say). And there was the forced retirement of Asashoryu for allegedly assaulting a staff member at a club while drunk (he allegedly punched the guy in the face and broke his nose or something like that).

But, most serious has been the bout fixing. Sumo probably was in danger of losing its appeal, I think they have been fighting for their lives basically.

It is still popular among the older generations. Not sure what state it'll be in 10 or 20 years down the line.