Brett Rogers (12-4) vs. Tim Sylvia (30-7) is off. The heavyweight bout, originally slated for DREAM's New Year's Eve card DREAM: New Year! 2011, was cancelled after Rogers' received notice that he would be declined a traveller's visa upon being released from Minnesota jail, according to reports from Heavy MMA.
DREAM officials elected to remove Sylvia from the card entirely with his opponent left unable to travel on short notice. Rogers is now said to be looking for available bookings inside the United States.
The besieged 30-year-old recently completed a 60-day jail sentence for domestic abuse, after allegedly beating his wife in front of their Apple Valley in June.
Sylvia was a rumored opponent for Fedor Emelianenko before agreeing to fight Rogers. The former UFC champion has ripped off wins in six of his last seven appearances, including a decision victory over Andreas Kraniotakes in early November.
"DREAM: Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011" takes place on December 31st at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The card will air on HDNet.
"DREAM: Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011" fight card:
Bantamweight Grand Prix:
Bantamweight Semifinal: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Bantamweight Semifinal: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Bantamweight Final: Winner of Imanari/Banuelos vs. Winner of Fernandes/Marques
Bantamweight Tourney-Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
Main card:
Featherweight Championship: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi Inoue
Lightweight Championship: Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii
Featherweight: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Welterweight: Hayato Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Women's Flyweight: Karla Benitez vs. Megumi Fujii