Dream 6 Tourny Announced: Zelg vs Jacare!

Dream has today officially announced the line-up for their 4-man Middleweight World Championship Tournament, which will take place on September 23rd at Dream 6: Middle Weight Grand Prix 2008 Final.

Zelg "Benkei" Galesic, who has carved himself a fearsome reputation in Japan by winning both of his previous fights at Dream, will be facing the slightly less experienced but just as deadly BJJ Specialist Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, who has likewise won both of his previous outings at Dream and holds a 7-1-0 MMA record.

This could be a classic striker vs grappler match-up, with Zelg holding a clear advantage in the striking department, and Jacare being super-slick on the ground. However, Zelg has been working extremely hard on his ground game of late and has pulled off some surprises of his own from the ground, including knocking out Mark Weir from within his guard, and then going on to win several fights by submission, including two armbars and a Kimura. This could well be one of the best fights of the event!

In the second bracket fearsome Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef will take on Gegard Mousasi. Both fighters have outstanding fight records, with Manhoef on 20-4-0 and Mousasi on 21-2-1 respectively.

Mousasi is undoubtedly the better all-round fighter of the two, but Manhoef's sheer power is more than most fighters can handle, so it will be interesting to see if Mousasi can weather the storm by surviving the initial onslaught and create a more even playing field. The advantage for Round 1 is probably with Manhoef, but the longer the fight goes on the more the scales will tip in favour of the more rounded Mousasi.

Possible match-ups for the final include:

Zelg Galesic vs Melvin Manhoef
Zelg Galesic vs Gegard Mousasi
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Melvin Manhoef
Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Gegard Mousasi

What a tournament! This should be one of the best World Championship tournaments in recent history and will result in a thrilling final regardless of who wins their first fight!