Joachim Hansen hitting Shinya Aoki (photo via DREAM)

By FCF Staff

For months the MMA world has been waiting for the curtain to drop on the Japanese promotion DREAM, and with the reported closure of its parent company Real Entertainment, it appears that’s finally happened.

News of Real Entertainment ceasing operations was reported to AsianMMA.com, which would effectively mean that the DREAM era is finally over. Since DREAM’S former majority owner, FEG, declared bankruptcy earlier this year, the writing has appeared to be on the wall for the promotion.

DREAM has not held an event since its New Year’s Eve event last December, and rumors of the company’s financial difficulties have persisted for months.

DREAM came into being out of the ashes of the legendary PRIDE organization in 2008, and promoted 20 events over the coming years.

During its time, notable fighters like Bibiano Fernandes, Shinya Aoki, Kazushi Sakuraba, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen, Mirko Filipovic, Alistair Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, among many others, competed for DREAM.