Shinya Aoki finally has an official opponent for DREAM’s May 29 “Fight for Japan” charity event as it was announced Sunday that the DREAM lightweight champion has signed to face Antonio McKee.
Shinya Aoki will be coming into the bout on the heels of his dominating submission victory over Lyle Beerbohm at Strikeforce in April, the Japanese veteran’s first win America. Aoki had been in negotiations to fight former Shooto ace Willamy Freire and former WEC champ Jamie Verner, but those bouts feel through.
In his last outing, Antonio McKee dropped a disappointing split decision to Jacob Volkmann, a loss which cost McKee his UFC contract. Prior to that loss however, McKee had amassed a 15-fight unbeaten streak dating back to 2003.
The May 29 “Fight for Japan” charity event will be a scaled down version of a regular DREAM event due to power shortages following the March 11 Japanese earthquake. The full card for DREAM’s first show of 2011 is after the break.