In other notable action at the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan, Shinya Aoki became DREAM’s lightweight champ by submitting title-holder Joachim Hansen in the closing seconds of their co-headlining matchup, veteran Kazushi Sakuraba easily submitted newcomer Rubin Williams, and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Ikuhisa Minowa advanced to the Super Hulk tournament finale.

The complete results for DREAM 11 were:

• Bibiano Fernandes vs. Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision
  2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Final
• Shinya Aoki def. Joachim Hansen (c) via submission (armbar) — Round 1
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Kazushi Sakuraba def. Rubin Williams via submission (kimura) — Round 1
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Melchor Manibusan via TKO (strikes) — Round 1
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Bob Sapp via TKO (strikes) — Round 1^
• Ikuhisa Minowa def. Hong Man Choi via submission (heel hook) — Round 2^
• Bibiano Fernandes def. Joe Warren via technical submission (armbar) — Round 1*
• Hiroyuki Takaya def. Hideo Tokoro via TKO (strikes) — Round 2*
• Kazuyuki Miyata def. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata via unanimous decision+

^ Super Hulk Tournament Semifinal
* 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal
+ 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

Pictured: Bibiano Fernandes

Headliners Joachim Hansen, the promotion’s lightweight champ, and challenger Shinya Aoki were both on weight for their main event matchup, as were featherweights Bibiano Fernandes, Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya, and Hideo Tokoro, who will all be in action on Tuesday in the conclusion of DREAM’s 2009 featherweight grand prix.

The official weigh-in results for DREAM 11 were:

• Joachim Hansen (c) (150.4) vs. Shinya Aoki (153.9)
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Kazushi Sakuraba (184) vs. Rubin Williams (181.9)
• Tatsuya Kawajiri (154.1) vs. Melchor Manibusan (152.6)
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (220.5) vs. Bob Sapp (341.7)^
• Hong Man Choi (319.7) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (193)^
• Bibiano Fernandes (138) vs. Joe Warren (138)*
• Hiroyuki Takaya (138.9) vs. Hideo Tokoro (138.5)*
• Kazuyuki Miyata (138.5) vs. Daiki “DJ.taiki” Hata (138.5)+

^ Super Hulk Tournament Semifinal
* 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal
+ 2009 Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout

Pictured: Joachim Hansen

Mousasi, the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and former DREAM middleweight title-holder, was submitted by Fedor with an armbar in the August 28 exhibition at M-1: Breakthrough.

Hong Man Choi and Ikuhisa Minowa will meet in the other “Super Hulk” semifinal bout at DREAM 11, while a replacement opponent will soon be announced for Sokoudjou.

The promotion also announced on Wednesday that lightweights Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante (14-3-1) and Daisuke Nakamura (20-10) would meet at the event, which will be televised in North America on HDNet.

The current card for DREAM 11 features:

• Joachim Hansen (c) vs. Shinya Aoki
  DREAM Lightweight Championship
• Featherweight grand prix final
• Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante vs. Daisuke Nakamura
• Bibiano Fernandes vs. Joe Warren*
• Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Hideo Tokoro*
• Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Daiki Hata#
• Hong Man Choi vs. Ikuhisa Minowa^
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. TBA^

* Featherweight grand prix semifinal
# Featherweight grand prix reserve bout
^ “Super Hulk” semifinal

Aoki submitted Hansen with a gogoplata in late-2006 in their first meeting in PRIDE, but Hansen evened the series last July with a TKO of Aoki to win the DREAM belt.

Since his loss to Hansen, Aoki (21-4) has won 4 of his 5 fights, losing only to Hayato Sakurai at welterweight while winning all 4 of his lightweight bouts, including a unanimous decision victory over Vitor Ribeiro at DREAM 10 on Monday.

Hansen (19-7-1) has not competed since winning the title, withdrawing from a scheduled matchup with Gesias Calvancante at Dynamite!! 2008 on New Years Eve at the last minute after reportedly suffering a concussion while warming up for the fight. He’s since recovered and will square off with Aoki in his first title defense.

DREAM 11 also features the semifinals and finale of the DREAM featherweight grand prix, as well as the semis of the promotion’s open weight Super Hulk tournament. Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza are also expected to fight for a third time at the event to crown a new middleweight champ, with Calvancante also rumored to be in action on the card.

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

[Pictured: Joachim Hansen]

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.

Lyle Beerbohm

• Lightweights Lyle Beerbohm (9-0) and Duane “Bang” Ludwig (18-8) are likely to headline the second installment of ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers on June 19th. [MMAjunkie]
• Kyle Dietz will make his WEC debut against Charlie Valencia at WEC 41 on June 7th at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. [MMAjunkie]
• Bantamweights Eddie Wineland and Frank Gomez will also meet at WEC 41. [NWI.com]
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will return to action against Dion Staring in the main event of a May 9th Jungle Fight event in Fortaleza, Brazil. [Tatame via Bloody Elbow]
• The undercard for “Ultimate Chaos,” which is co-headlined by Bobby Lashley vs. Bob Sapp and Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo, includes Din Thomas vs. Javier Vazquez, Chris Horodecki vs. William Sriyapai, Brett Cooper vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf, Tom Atencio vs. Randy Hedderick, and Danny Abbadi vs. Lance Thompson.
• George Bush vs. Lavar Johnson and Bao Quach vs. Isaac De Jesus have been added to the lineup for the debut of ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers on May 15th in Fresno, California. [MMAjunkie]
• A rematch between Shinya Aoki and Joachim Hansen has been confirmed for DREAM 10 on July 20th in Saitama, Japan.
• In an effort to attract more Japanese fans, the UFC recently launced jp.ufc.com, with a full site “coming soon”.

The Japanese MMA audience is the best in the world. They make magic! I would rather have one true Japanese MMA supporter than one million fake mainstream supporters that will turn their back on you as soon as you lose a fight.

I don’t care about things that are mainstream.”

PRIDE veteran and DREAM lightweight champion Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen (19-7-1) shares his distaste for the UFC and his appreciation of fighting in Japan in a recent interview with InTheGuard.tv.

* Alvarez was unable to continue in the tournament due to a cut and was replaced by Hansen.