2 stellar bouts have been added to DREAM 18, which is set to go down on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena situated in Tokyo, Japan.
Former DREAM Bantamweight and Featherweight title-holder Bibiano Fernandes is set to square off against former WEC veteran Yoshiro Maeda. A Light Heavyweight tilt between former Strikeforce veteran Melvin ‘No Mercy’ Manhoef and Denis Kang has also been slotted for the event.
The match-ups were announced and confirmed by various sources.
Fernandes, who recently snubbed the UFC for a stint with the Singapore-based ONE Fighting Championship, is on a 4-fight win streak, holding wins over the likes of Gustavo Falciroli and Antonio Banuelos. With ONE FC’s recent partnership with GLORY Sports International, Fernandes was given the nod to head back to the promotion where he won 2 separate titles in 2 different weight classes.
His opponent, Yoshiro Maeda, is no slouch by any standards. The 31-year-old has fought all over Japan in a myriad of promotions and brings lots of experience to the table, despite having somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde run in his MMA career thus far.
Light Heavyweights Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang are no strangers to the big lights either. After snapping a 4-fight winless run, Manhoef gained 2 consecutive victories over Jae Young Kim and Ryo Kawamura. He is now unbeaten in his last 3 fights.
Denis Kang, a former UFC and PRIDE staple, was once the owner of a 20-fight unbeaten streak that included wins over the likes Akihiro Gono and Murilo Rua. The 35-year-old recently snapped a 3-fight losing skid with a win over Hae Suk Son at ROAD FC 008: Bitter Rivals.
DREAM 18 and GLORY 4 TOKYO will take place on New Year’s Eve in what has been dubbed as “A Mega New Year’s Eve Special”.
Keep it locked to MMASucka.com for more news and information regarding DREAM 18, and all other GLORY events.
As it stands, here’s the unofficial fight card:
- Shinya Aoki vs. TBA (Rumored)
- Bibiano Fernandes vs. Yoshiro Maeda
- Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. TBA (Rumored)
- Melvin Manhoef vs. Denis Kang
- Phil Baroni vs. Hayato Sakurai
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