Sherdog is reporting that Yoshihiro Akiyama has been forced to pull out of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix due to re-injuring the nasal bone that was fractured by Kazuo Misaki at Yarennoka!
The report also states that Akiyama will not be given a bye into the 2ndRound of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix even if he got a sponsor’s exemption.
Akiyama holds a victory over one of the favorites to win the grand prix in Denis Kang. Aikyama knocked out Kang back at Kang’s HERO’s debut.
For those who don’t know or remember who Akiyama is, he was once accused of and admitted to greasing up before his fight with Kazushi Sakuraba which has caused him to lose a great deal of fans in Asia.