Hayato Sakurai Expected to face Jason High at "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010"

http://mmajunkie.com/news/21765/jason-high-vs-hayato-sakurai-expected-for-dream-dynamite-2010.mma

by Steven Marrocco

Welterweight Jason High (10-3 MMA, 2-1 DREAM) is about to get very busy.

A source close to the fighter today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the UFC, DREAM and Affliction vet is expected to take on Hayato Sakurai (35-11-2 MMA, 4-3 DREAM) on New Year's Eve at "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010."

Fewer than 30 days later, High flies back to the U.S. to take a booking against Rudy Bears at "Titan Fighting Championships 16: Duffee vs. Wagner." Additionally, he is expected to fight in March against an unnamed opponent at Maximum Fighting Championships.

First, though, is the year-end DREAM event, which features a welterweight title bout between champ Marius Zaromskis and MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba, as MMAjunkie.com earlier reported.

High turned things around later this year after a two-fight skid in which he was knocked out by a Zaromskis high-kick in the finals of DREAM's 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix, then released from the UFC after losing a unanimous decision to Charlie Brenneman at UFC Fight Night 21 in March. He now enjoys a two-fight win streak in regional Canadian competition.

High trains for fights with veteran Antonio McKee at the Bodyshop Fitness Team in Lakewood, Calif., though he currently resides in Kansas City, Mo.

Sakurai, meanwhile, is badly in need of a win. The Japanese veteran and onetime UFC welterweight contender is on a three-fight skid that includes a head-kick knockout at the hands of Zaromskis in the semifinal round of DREAM's 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix and back-to-back armbar losses to Akihiro Gono and, most recently, Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz in May's DREAM 14.

Sakurai trains at his own gym, Mach Dojo, in Japan but often travels to Seattle to train with Matt Hume at AMC Pankration.

For the latest on the "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.