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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Issues with Japanese promotion DREAM continue to mount, and the most recent complaint comes from their Featherweight Champion Bibiano Fernandes.
"Dream called me two days ago to offer me a fight [on] September 21, but I said I won’t fight until they pay me for my last fight [against Joachim Hansen]” Fernandes said in comments made to Tatame.com.
"I have family, I have a wife and I can’t work without getting paid. I’ll only fight against when they pay me for my last fight.”
That fight over Hansen took place in March of this year, almost five months ago. And Fernandes isn't the first to publicly complain about not getting paid by DREAM. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza complained last September about not being paid four months after a fight with Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and recently Gary Goodridge stated he still hadn't been paid for his New Year's Eve fight with Gegard Mousasi.
Fernandes is 8-2 overall in his career. He won the DREAM Featherweight Championship in October of 2009, earning a split decision win over Hiroyuki Takaya in the finals of the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix.
Penick's Analysis: These continued stories of fighters not getting paid by DREAM are an ominous sign for the organization. Despite their supposed new money backer Puji, this continues to happen. With attendance down and television ratings suffering in Japan, DREAM is on shaky legs. If they continue to have problems paying fighters, they'll be less likely to get fighters to come over to fight on their cards.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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