Ralek Gracie Replaces ‘Cacareco’ in Dream
Tim Leidecker Jun 12, 2008
Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara announced on Thursday the
matchup of Ralek Gracie
(Pictures) against Alavutdin Gadzhiyev
(Pictures) to complete Sunday's Dream
4 card at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.
The announcement came as no surprise - both fighters had lost their originally intended opponents in the last week. Gracie was scheduled to take on Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in a special-rules grappling exhibition, while the Russian sambo fighter was previously slated to square off against Gracie's compatriot Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira. Filipovic bowed out of the match due to lingering injuries, while it had been reported that Ferreira was unable to secure a visa for travel.
Dream's Sasahara denied that the Brazilian had not been granted a
visa and stated the fighter had dropped out due to jetlag.
"I understand being jetlagged is not a pleasant feeling," Sasahara said, "but how professional is it to cancel your fight and let the fans down because of that?"
The bout between Gracie and Gadzhiyev will be waged at heavyweight, said Sasahara. Gadzhiyev, a natural middleweight, will be giving up more than twenty pounds in weight.
"We are now waiting for the arrival of both fighters and we'll discuss [the weight issue] tomorrow," said Sasahara. "It is possible that the fight will be a light heavyweight contest if Gracie is able to cut to 205 pounds by Sunday."
The announcement came as no surprise - both fighters had lost their originally intended opponents in the last week. Gracie was scheduled to take on Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in a special-rules grappling exhibition, while the Russian sambo fighter was previously slated to square off against Gracie's compatriot Alexandre "Cacareco" Ferreira. Filipovic bowed out of the match due to lingering injuries, while it had been reported that Ferreira was unable to secure a visa for travel.
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"I understand being jetlagged is not a pleasant feeling," Sasahara said, "but how professional is it to cancel your fight and let the fans down because of that?"
The bout between Gracie and Gadzhiyev will be waged at heavyweight, said Sasahara. Gadzhiyev, a natural middleweight, will be giving up more than twenty pounds in weight.
"We are now waiting for the arrival of both fighters and we'll discuss [the weight issue] tomorrow," said Sasahara. "It is possible that the fight will be a light heavyweight contest if Gracie is able to cut to 205 pounds by Sunday."
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