WAMMA Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki (20-4) is set to collide with Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (20-2) at DREAM 10 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on July 20, in what should turn out to be quite a grappling demonstration.
The top-ranked lightweight fighter in the world, Aoki is a submission wizard who holds wins over Eddie Alvarez, Gesias Cavalcante and Joachim Hansen among others. He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Yuki Nakai, as well as a Judo black belt.
Aoki — who is also the Shooto middleweight (168 pounds) champion — last saw action at DREAM 8 on April 5, 2009, when he moved up in weight to enter the Welterweight Grand Prix (170 pounds) in a first round matchup against Hayato Sakurai. The fight was actually a rematch from 2005 when "Mach" won via unanimous decision. At DREAM 8, the result was the same, only it took considerably less time — just 27 seconds — for "Mach" to pound out the TKO victory.
"Tobikan Judan" (aka, "Master of Flying Submissions") then met WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko in a five-minute exhibition grappling match. "The Last Emperor" secured an Achilles lock just before the end of the match to secure the tap from Aoki.
Aoki now looks to bounce back against an opponent in his own weight class — and one who won’t be afraid to go to the ground with him.
An accomplished grappler, Ribeiro is a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with 11 submission victories in mixed martial arts (MMA) to his credit. The Brazilian holds a win over Joachim Hansen and most recently over former Olympic wrestler Katsuhiko Nagata at DREAM 8 in April 2009 via TKO (doctor stoppage). The event marked Ribeiro’s return to MMA after an 18-month absence.
Prior to the Nagata win, "Shaolin" lost in quick fashion (35 seconds) to Gesias Cavalcante via TKO in a September 2007 K-1 Hero’s event. Despite the loss, Ribeiro is considered a dangerous veteran who has fought all over the world for organizations like Shooto Japan, Shooto Hawaii, Rumble on the Rock, Cage Rage and K-1 Hero’s. He is a former Shooto welterweight (154 pounds) champion, as well as a Cage Rage world lightweight champion.
The fight replaces a previously scheduled lightweight title bout between Aoki and Joachim Hansen, which has apparently been scrapped altogether.
DREAM 10 will also feature the final two rounds of the promotion’s Welterweight Grand Prix tournament, which was created in a bid to crown a 168-pound champion. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai will fight Marius Zaromskis, while Andre Galvao will fight Jason High.
Here is the current line-up for DREAM 10:
WAMMA Lightweight Title:
Shinya Aoki (20-4) vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinals:
Andre Galvao (3-0) vs. Jason High (7-1)
Hayato Sakurai (35-8-2) vs. Marius Zaromskis (9-2)
Welterweight Grand Prix Final:
Andre Galvao (3-0) or Jason High (7-1) vs. Hayato Sakurai (35-8-2) or Marius Zaromskis (9-2)
Non-tournament bouts:
Andre Amade (6-3) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (11-1)
Melvin Manhoef vs. Paulo Filho
That’s it for now. Look for more fights to be added as we get closer to July 20. For more on DREAM click here.