Dream 5: The Little Show That Could

On July 21st just days after Affliction: Banned and UFC's Silva vs. Irvin, Dream 5 will host a show in Osaka Japan. While Dream doesn't have the hype or the big names of the two stateside shows it is not lacking in talent.

It has recently been announced that Japanese standout "Kid" Yamamoto has suffered an injury while training and will not participate in his fight against Joseph Benavidez. It is being reported that Yamamoto injured his knee while training. A replacement opponent is trying to be found ASAP.

Mirko "Crocop" was also supposed to be apart of this card but was scratched due to injury.

But even with these injuries there are several good fights on the card. Personal favorite and top five ranked Shinya Aoki will be fighting in dreams Lightweight Grand Prix. He will be taking on savvy veteran Caol Uno. Uno advanced in the tourney by scoring a mild upset against Mitsuhiro Ishida. This one should prove to be very very interesting.

On the other side of the bracket former Bodog fighter Eddie Alvarez will be taking on highly touted Tatsuya Kawajiri. The winner will face the winner of the bout mentioned above for the Grand Prix title.

In a major upset I see Alvarez beating Kawajiri and advancing to face Aoki for the  final.  In the end I think Aoki submissions and Judo is just to good for  Eddie and Aoki will be crowned king of the Grand Prix.

Another match of interest is former Pride Heavyweight Mark Hunt taking on Alistair Overeem. It's always a crap shoot on which Overeem shows up. Sometimes the guy looks totally dominating and other times he looks awful. If he plans on staying conscious he better bring his "A" game because Hunt can bang! The bout is bound to end in a spectacular Knockout.

I thought someone should at least mention the Dream 5 card as everyone is drooling over the Affliction card and the free UFC fight. It certainly is a great time to be an MMA fan. It is going to be a very busy Weekend.