Aoki-Clementi Official for Dream’s ‘Fight for Japan’

Dream has hosted a game of musical chairs in recent weeks while trying to find an opponent for Aoki. Former Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight king Antonio McKee was originally tapped, but then onetime WEC titleholder Jamie Varner appeared to be the leading candidate soon after. Days later, it looked as if McKee was back in, but the fighter then announced that ongoing visa issues would prevent him from competing.

Dream official Mike Kogan disagreed with that statement, asserting that McKee could have acquired his visa in time to fight on May 29 at Saitama Super Arena Hall in Saitama, Japan. Sherdog.com then contacted several sources close to the event and confirmed that McKee had undergone knee surgery three weeks prior to repair his meniscus. Dream announced on Friday that McKee’s knee has experienced swelling and that this was the reason behind his withdrawal from the bout. However, when Sherdog.com contacted the fighter last week, he declined to comment on the matter.

With McKee out, the promotion quickly found a replacement in Shane Nelson. However, Sherdog.com confirmed with a source close to the fighter that Aoki’s camp turned down Nelson as a potential foe, and the search for an opponent began once more. The promotion then contacted Clementi, who accepted the fight. Aoki followed suit, agreeing to toe the line against the American earlier this week.

Dream “Fight for Japan” will feature both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the promotion’s 2011 bantamweight grand prix. Also featured will be a trio of featherweight scraps, as Caol Uno meets Akiyo Nishiura, Mitsuhiro Ishida locks horns with Joachim Hansen and Takeshi Inoue faces Koichiro Matsumoto.

Masakazu Imanari vs. Keisuke Fujiwara
Hideo Tokoro vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Kenji Osawa vs. Takafumi Otsuka
Darren Uyenoyama vs. Atsushi Yamamoto

Shinya Aoki vs. Rich Clementi
Joachim Hansen vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
Takeshi Inoue vs. Koichiro Matsumoto
Caol Uno vs. Akiyo Nishiura
Katsunori Kikuno vs. Daisuke Nakamura