Kawajiri and Aoki livered! These matches will be off the wall!

Aoki and Kawajiri's title match has disappeared...

It became a volatile conference. The additional matches between DREAM and SRC are shown below:

[ DREAM x SRC / MMA Rules ]
Shinya Aoki (Japan / Paraestra Tokyo)
VS
Mizuto Hirota (Japan / Freelance)

Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan / T-BLOOD)
VS
Kazunori Yokota (Japan / GRABAKA)

At the conference, Hiroyuki Takaya and Michihiro Ominaga, whose match had already been announced, were also present. But it was the four additional names that made a massive impact.

Among the four, Tatsuya Kawajiri might be the most familiar fighter for the K-1 fans. He stepped up and fought against Masato under MAX rules, and he defeated Kozo Takeda at last year's �wDynamite!!�xunder the same rules. He also faced Ross Ebanez and J.Z. Calvan at DREAM, as well as defeating Melchor Barracuda before requesting a match against the current champion, Aoki.

We were all expecting to see a Lightweight title match on the 31st, but the fights against SRC emerged suddenly. "Things have been changed up a little," said Sasahara EP, and he said the title match timing was back on the drawing board. Then the announcement was made that Kawajiri would be fighting against Kazunori Yokota, and Aoki against Mizuto Hirota.

Yokota is confident with K-1 rules.

It was Aoki and Kawajiri who came to the conference with disgusted looks on their faces. Then Yokota made a long speech saying, "I wanted them to decide early because my opponent was whining. Well, now it's been decided, I'll just do what I have to do. I was thinking beore that I have to beat Gomi, but as Kawajiri is getting famous, it'd be cool if I beat him too. My motivation is much higher than his. Last year, Kawajiri fought against Takeda, and then Masato under K-1 rules, but I'm much stronger than he is under K-1 rules..."

Aoki grabbed a mike and shouted, "That's enough. Shut up!" Everyone froze. Kawajiri didn't say anything but the tense expression on his face conveyed his feelings perfectly.

Yokota, who has defeated the lightweight champion Mizuto Hirota, is an influential fighter and has great ground techniques. He even defeated Faldir Chahbari, who holds a victory over Albert Kraus under kickboxing rules. He is highly estimated as an all-around fighter. He has the skills and aggression to do well even under K-1 rules. It'll be tension-filled atmosphere when he faces off against Kawajiri.

The four of them find themselves complexly intertwined

The other card is DREAM's and SRC's Champion confrontation. Aoki said at the last conference, "I don't even know who the current SRC Champion is" which put a dent in Hirota's pride. It's going to be fateful confrontation. Hirota commented, "I'll be able to smash him, as it seems he doesn't know me." Aoki said, "DREAM will win all" to which Hirota replied, "I'll send exactly the same comment back to him. SRC will win all." Both of them held their ground as the representing champion.

K-1 fans may not familiar with him, but Hirota is just as influential as Aoki. He has defeated Kawajiri's best friend friend, Mitsuhiro Ishida, by TKO before, and has a win over Satoru Kitaoka, who is considered to be SRC's absolute champion. He won't be an easy opponent for Aoki.

Aoki, Kawajiri, Hirota, and Yokota. These four have a rather complicated and interwound fate. The battle between DREAM and SRC is getting exciting.

Sadaharu Tanikawa, who is the representative for FEG said, "We're still arranging one or two more matches. Kazushi Sakuraba might not be able to appear this time due to an injury, but let's wait and see." ��

Speeches at the press conference

FEG Event Producer Mr.Sadaharu Tanikawa

"To conclude this year, we have three major events - Masato's retirement match, Yoshida vs. Ishii, and a DREAM vs. SRC rivalry. Today I'm going to announce one match that was already mentioned, and two more new ones. There will still be 1 or 2 more bouts to announce. We haven't finalized all of the matches, but we'll try our best to get more viewers than NHK or other TV programmes on the night."

World Victory Road Inc. Division Chief Mr.Sumio Inamura

"I heard that all the fighters are highly motivated, and are getting ready for New Year's Eve. We'll also try our best to put on one or two more matches."

DREAM Event Producer Mr.Keiichi Sasahara

"I shall announce the other matches. Today we have two. Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota and Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazunori Yokota. We went back and forth until very last minute about whether we'd have DREAM Lightweight Champion match or not , but finally we have decided to have these matches after listening to various peoples' opinions. I believe that it is a perfect fit to have Aoki, DREAM Lightweight Champion, and Hirota, SRC Lightweight Champion. Yokota is an all-around fighter who is good at both striking and ground techniques. I believe Kawajiri has increased his motivation after this match was decided. Now we have 8 matches. I'd like to announce the remaining ones as soon as possible.

Q&A with reporters

-- How do you feel about taking part in competition between DREAM and SRC?
Kawajiri: It doesn't matter to me whether it's competition or not. Once I'm up in the ring, I'll cut the head off of the snake.
-- It's 9 days before the match. How's your motivation?
Aoki: I feel that not only me, but also my parents are disgraced this time. So we, as the DREAM team, have to win all the matches and crush our opponents.
-- What will the rules be?
Sasahara EP: 5 min 3 rounds. No stomping. We are working on how to judge, as we use a slightly different system now.
-- How about the referees?
Sasahara EP: We'll have them from both organisations.
-- Takaya and Omigawa, how do you feel about the match? And for you Takaya, there was a fight between fans at the last game. Could you give us any comment on it? Takaya: Fighters follow rules, so I'd like the fans to do so too and just watch our fight. If they start fights, it gives trouble not only to us but also to people involved. Omigawa and I will show you a fight so please watch us maturely.
Omigawa: Takaya is one of my favorites. I can't wait to fight against him. I'm very excited
-- Aoki san said DREAM's team will win all the bouts. How about you, Hirota?
Hirota: Well, I'll send the same words back to him. SRC will win all.
-- Could you give us a comment about your opponent?
Omigawa: The Asshole - The Final Chapter" is how I see Takaya, so I couldn't ask for anyone better than that. I'm all ready for it. Let's do it Takaya: I'll just do what I have to do. Yokota: I respect my opponent. I want him to motivate me and want to have a good match. I'll try my best to make a speech on stage at the end of the fight. Kawajiri, .......
Hirota: I'm going to blow him away
Aoki: I'll make it an easy win and try my best to make him realize that DREAM is fun.
-- What's your image of DREAM event?
Hirota: It's on Channel 6. That's all.
-- What's your image of a SRC event?
Aoki: "For me, it's nothing without Kitaoka, Gomi, and Mr.Kokuho.

Producer Tanikawa and Sasahara EP, after the conference

-- Had the title match between Aoki vs Kawajiri been decided?
Tanikawa: I think their own mind was made in the ring that night.
Sasahara EP: I suppose they feel like, "Don't disturb us!"
-- Aoki and Kawajiri didn't accept the match?
Sasahara: They were not being selfish or whining. We had lots to arrange with them and their managers. They do what they are asked to do. I think they had a strong mindset to show the best match possible.
-- How about Sakuraba?
Tanikawa: Well, he's injured. It's not a matter of who he'd fight. He is not in the condition to fight. He thinks he has to join the event so I want to wait for him until the very last minute but... it's the doctor's order to stop.
-- What kind of injury?
Tanikawa: I can't tell you that, but he has injuries in 2 places. He did them while practicing. The first one was in late November, and the other one is early December. It seems he's been injured more after trying to protect the injuries.

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