The DREAM 3 post-presser had enough interesting notes that I couldn’t help but read into a bit for the sake of speculation and excitement regarding some of the future matchups we could potentially see in future events. Here’s a few of the items that were noteworthy:

• Sasahara, DREAM’s event producer, talked about possibly having Kimbo Slice on a future DREAM card due to their new partnership with ProElite. He stated that Kimbo has zero name recognition right now, but only one appearance could shift the fans to love him. Interestingly enough, Japan loves fighters with that monster physique and ability to stop opponents with one punch. It could definitely be a match made in heaven from an entertainment perspective, but I’m not sure if the Japanese fans would love his street thuggish look.

• Sasahara also stated that the promotion was growing and didn’t have a need for a women’s division at this time, but talk of Gina Carano making an appearance in the future on a DREAM card wasn’t out of the question.

• Jason Miller made comments that he would love to be matched up against a legend in Japan such as Sakuraba. I’d definitely love to see this matchup in the next round, but DREAM officials may look elsewhere to keep Sakuraba in the tournament as a draw. It’s an interesting development because Mayhem seemed to have won over the crowd with his antics, so matching both fighters against each other may produce much more interest in the event.

• Kawajiri wants to take on Uno due to Uno defeating his T-Blood campmate Mitsuhiro Ishida. I’m inclined to believe that the proposed fight between “The Crusher” and Uno will probably take place. It has a storyline to an extent, but who knows what DREAM will do. Uno still has status in the Japanese MMA fight scene, but I doubt DREAM will give him an easier fight.

• Alvarez talked about wanting to become a regular fighter for the organization. He also joked about being the lone American in the tournament. Alvarez definitely has a shot at winning the Grand Prix, and it’ll be very interesting to see how he handles his next opponent. Hansen was definitely a big win for Alvarez.

Overall, I like some of the suggested matchups that the fighters want. Miller vs. Sakuraba and Kawajiri vs. Uno both have storylines associated with them, but as we all know, MMA in Japan is a different beast when it comes to making money. We’ll see how it plays out in the coming weeks.

There is one huge piece of news that definitely gives DREAM some dreamier matchups for American fans. Their newly announced partnership with ProElite is going to bring over some fighters and possibly create a co-promotional event in the States. We could see Kimbo in Japan, and we are going to see Nick Diaz in Japan against “Mach” Sakurai according to MMAWeekly.com. We could definitely have some exciting fights happening in the coming months between DREAM and ProElite.