After sending Sakurai to the canvas with a head kick and finishing him off with punches in the semis, Zaromskis used another head kick, this time early in the first-round, to knock off High and finish his surprising run by winning the tournament.

The Cage Rage veteran Zaromskis improves to 11-2 with 4-straight victories following his DREAM 10 wins, while High, who defeated Andre Galvao to advance to the finals, falls to 8-2 and Sakurai drops to 35-9-2.

In other DREAM 10 action, Shinya Aoki topped Vitor Ribeiro by unanimous decision in a lightweight bout that failed to live up to expectations, TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor defeated Dong Sik Yoon, who was unable to continue due to a left ankle injury, and former WEC champ Paulo Filho submitted kickboxer Melvin Manhoef in the opening round of their middleweight matchup.

The official results for DREAM 10 were:

• Marius Zaromskis def. Jason High via knockout (kick) – Round 1
• Shinya Aoki def. Vitor Ribeiro via unanimous decision
• Jesse Taylor def. Dong Sik Yoon via TKO (injury) – Round 1
• Paulo Filho def. Melvin Manhoef via submission (armbar) – Round 1
• Katsunori Kikuno def. Andre “Dida” Amade via TKO (punches) – Round 1
• Jason High def. Andre Galvao via split decision*
• Marius Zaromskis def. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai via TKO (strikes) – Round 1*
• Tarec Saffiedine def. Seichi Ikemoto via unanimous decision+

* Welterweight grand prix semifinals
+ Welterweight grandprix reserve bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest DREAM news and DREAM rumors.

[Pictured: Marius Zaromskis]

Welterweight grand prix participant Hayato “Mach” Sakurai struggled to reach the 76kg limit for his semifinals bout against Marius Zaromskis, but eventually dropped the necessary weight for his third weigh-in attempt.

The rest of the card, including Andre Galvao, Jason High, and Zaromskis, who will compete alongside Sakurai in the welterweight GP, as well as lightweight opponents Shinya Aoki and Vitor Ribeiro successfully made weight on their first attempts.

The official weigh-in results for DREAM 10 were:

• Shinya Aoki (153.6 lb./69.8 kg) vs. Vitor Ribeiro (153.8 lb./69.9 kg)
• Jesse Taylor (185.7 lb./84.4 kg) vs. Dong Sik Yoon (186.6 lb./84.8 kg)
• Paulo Filho (184.8 lb./84 kg) vs. Melvin Manhoef (184.4 lb./83.8 kg)
• Andre “Dida” Amade (154 lb./70 kg) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (154 lb./70 kg)
• Andre Galvao (167.2 lb./76 kg) vs. Jason High (167.2 lb./76 kg)*
• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (167.2 lb./76 kg) vs. Marius Zaromskis (166.8 lb./75.8 kg)*
• Tarec Saffiedine (166.8 lb./75.8 kg) vs. Ikemoto Seichi (166.8 lb./75.8 kg)+

* Welterweight grand prix semifinals
+ Welterweight grandprix reserve bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest DREAM news and DREAM rumors.

[Pictured: Hayato "Mach" Sakurai]

The official fight card in reverse bout order is:

• Welterweight grand prix final
• Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor Ribeiro
• Jesse Taylor vs. Dong Sik Yoon
• Paulo Filho vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Andre “Dida” Amade vs. Katsunori Kikuno
• Andre Galvao vs. Jason High*
• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Marius Zaromskis*
• Tarec Saffiedine vs. Ikemoto Seichi+

* Welterweight grand prix semifinals
+ Welterweight grandprix reserve bout

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest DREAM news and DREAM rumors.

Match ups have been set for the semi final round of the DREAM welterweight grand prix, to take place on DREAM 10, on July 20. The finals will take place the same night pitting the respective winners against one another. According to reports by MMAWeekly the match-ups will be Andre Galvao vs. Jason High, and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Marius Zaromskis.

Ground ace, Galvao, made it past the first round of the tournament by submitting veteran fighter John Alessio, improving his record to 3-0. His opponent, High, got back in the win column with a quick submission victory over Yuya Shirai in the GP opening round, and brings a 7-1 record into the event.

Sakurai will look to improve on his 35-8-2 record in the second round of the tournament, after defeating fan favorite, Shinya Aoki via TKO in their highly anticipated first round bout. He will be facing off against Marius Zaromskis, who brings a 9-2 record into the event after an opening round unanimous decision win over Seichi Ikemoto.

The winners of the semi-final match-ups will then face one another in the tournament finals later in the evening. Also reported for the event is a lightweight rubber match between Shinya Aoki and Joachim Hansen for the DREAM lightweight title, that Hansen holds.

Please be sure to follow the rumors for the July 20th event on our MMAFrenzy DREAM 10 Rumors page.

Sakurai improves to 35-8-2 with the victory and now advances to the semifinals of the promotion’s 2009 welterweight grand prix while Aoki, who falls to 20-4 with the loss, is likely to return to the lightweight division for his next bout.

With victories at DREAM 8, Jason High, Marius Zaromskis, and Andre Galvao also advanced to the welterweight semis.

The opening round of DREAM’s featherweight grand prix, which got underway with six bouts at DREAM 7, concluded on Sunday as Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata advanced with a win over Hideo Tokoro.

Notables Jeff Monson and Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro also picked up wins in non-tournament action, while Murilo “Ninja” Rua dropped an exciting unanimous decision to late-replacement Riki Fukuda.

The official DREAM 8 results were:

• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai def. Shinya Aoki via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 0:27*
• Jason High def. Yuya Shirai via technical submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 0:59*
• Marius Zaromskis def. Seichi Ikemoto via unanimous decision*
• Andre Galvao def. John Alessio via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 7:34*
• Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata def. Hideo Tokoro via unanimous decision^
• Jeff Monson def. Sergei Kharitonov via submission (north-south choke) – Round 1, 1:42
• Riki Fukuda def. Murilo “Ninja” Rua via unanimous decision
• Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro def. Katsuhiko Nagata via TKO (cut) – Round 1, 7:58
• Andrews Nakahara def. Shungo Oyama via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:00
• Katsutori Shibata def. Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa via unanimous decision

* 2009 DREAM Welterweight GP quarterfinals bout
^ 2009 DREAM Featherweight GP opening round bout

Videos:

Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Shinya Aoki

Jason High vs. Yuya Shira

Jeff Monson vs. Sergei Kharitonov

The event will air via tape-delay on HDNet and features the opening round of the DREAM welterweight grand prix as well as the final bout from DREAM’s featherweight grand prix opening round.

Riki Fukuda has agreed to fight fellow middleweight Murilo “Ninja” Rua on just one days notice after his scheduled opponent, Dong Sik Yoon, was forced out of their bout due to an undisclosed injury.

The official DREAM 8 weigh-in results were:

• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (75.9kg/167 lbs.) vs. Shinya Aoki (73.5kg/161.7 lbs.)
• Yuya Shirai (75.7kg/166.5 lbs.) vs. Jason High (75.9kg/167 lbs.)
• Marius Zaromskis (75.5kg/166.1 lbs.) vs. Seichi Ikemoto (75.7kg/166.5 lbs.)
• John Alessio (76.0kg/167.2 lbs.) vs. Andre Galvao (76.0kg/167.2 lbs.)
• Hideo Tokoro (62.3kg/137 lbs.) vs. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata (63.0kg/138.6 lbs.)
• Sergei Kharitonov (116.5kg/256.3 lbs.) vs. Jeff Monson (110.0kg/242 lbs.
• Riki Fukuda (88.8kg/195.4 lbs.) vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (88.0kg/193.6 lbs.)
• Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (69.7kg/153.3 lbs.) vs. Katsuhiko Nagata (70.0kg/154 lbs.)
• Andrews Nakahara (85.0kg/187 lbs.) vs. Shungo Oyama (85.7kg/188.5 lbs.)
• Katsuyori Shibata (86.2 kg/189.6 lbs.) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (87.0 kg/191.4 lbs.)

Stop by MMAFrenzy.com tomorrow afternoon for official DREAM 8 results.

Announced today were the opening round GP matchups of Shinya Aoki vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Yuya Shirai vs. Jason High, Marius Zaromskis vs. Seichi Ikemoto, and Andre Galvao vs. John Alessio. A non-tournament bout featuring Jeff Monson and Sergey Kharitonov was also announced.

DREAm 8 airs on HDNet on April 10th at 10pm ET.

The event’s official lineup features:

Welterweight Grand Prix Opening Round

• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Shinya Aoki
• Yuya Shirai vs. Jason High
• Marius Zaromskis vs. Seichi Ikemoto
• John Alessio vs. Andre Galvao

Featherweight Grand Prix Opening Round

• Hideo Tokoro vs. Daiki Hata

Non-Grand Prix Bouts

• Katsuyori Shibata vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
• Dong Sik Yoon vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua
• Andrews Nakahara vs. Shungo Oyama
• Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson

Shinya Aoki

A rematch between Shinya Aoki and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai has been officially announced for the opening round of DREAM’s welterweight tournament at DREAM.8 on April 5th at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.

Aoki (20-3), who lost to Sakurai via unanimous decision in his fifth professional bout in 2005, will move up from featherweight for the matchup. Aoki advanced to the finals of DREAM’s lightweight grand prix last year, losing to Joachim Hansen in the championship bout. More recently, Aoki submitted Eddie Alvarez at Dynamite!! 2008 to win the WAMMA lightweight title then defeated David Gardner in a welterweight match at the opening round of DREAM’s featherweight tournament earlier this month.

Sakurai (33-8-2) has won seven of his past eight fights dating back to late-2005, most-recently defeating Kuniyoshi Hironaka at DREAM 6 and Katsuyori Shibata at Dynamite!! 2008.

For the latest DREAM rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

Shinya Aoki

FEG Dream 8, which is slated to feature the beginnings of the promotions Welterweight tournament so far has three names attached to the event. According the promotions website, Shinya Aoki, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, and Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa will be competing. Also rumored for the tournament, according to japan-mma.com, is the winner of a DEEP 40 bout between Hidetaka Monma and Seichi Ikemoto.

Aoki recently defeated Eddie Alvarez in a highly anticipated Lightweight battle on New Year’s Eve. Sakurai, has had problems in the past with making weight for the the promotions 154 pound lightweight division, so a move to Welterweight seems more natural for him. Ikemoto is currently the DEEP champion.

“Minowaman”’s scheduled bout will not be a part of the Welterweight tournament.

You can follow the rumors about Dream 8 on the Dream 8 Rumors page. You can also follow Dream 7 which is slated to take place on March 8th on the Dream 7 Rumors page.

The now-complete fight card features:

• Winner of Manhoef-Mousasi vs. winner of Galesic-Souza
  Middleweight Grand Prix Final
• Melvin Manhoef vs. Gegard Mousasi
  Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinal
• Zelg Galesic vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
  Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinal
• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Alistair Overeem
• Sergei Kharitonov vs. Siala “Mighty Mo” Siliga
• Keita Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins
• Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Masakatsu Funaki
• Hayato Sakurai vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Masanori Tonooka
• Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
• Yoon Dong Sik vs. Andrews Nakahara
  Middleweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout