Latest Dream7 Stories

The Japanese mixed martial arts star Shinya Aoki, widely regarded as one of the best submission artists in the world, found another victim in defeating the American David Gardner in a welterweight fight at Dream 7 early Sunday morning in Japan.

Aoki got Gardner in a rear-naked choke at 5:58 of the first round, improving his MMA record to 20-3, with 12 wins by submission. This was Aoki's first fight at welterweight; next month at Dream.8 he'll fight in the first round of Dream's welterweight tournament.

For American fans of Japanese MMA, having HDNet is an absolute must, as it's the exclusive U.S. home of the Japanese Dream and Sengoku promotions.

Shinya Aoki, the best fighter in Japan's Dream MMA promotion, will return to the ring at Dream.7 against the American David Gardner.

The Aoki-Gardner fight was one of two recently added to the official fight card at Dream's web site; the other was another lightweight match, featuring Mitsuhiro Ishida taking on Daisuke Nakamura. Dream.7 is also expected to feature six first-round fights in Dream's featherweight grand prix tournament.

Japan's Dream MMA promotion has announced most of the participants in its upcoming Featherweight Grand Prix, but there's one big name who isn't officially part of the tournament yet: Kid Yamamoto.