long and often-bumpy road brought Akiyama back to his hometown to meet the no-nonsense Shibata, who conspicuously garnered a more robust reception from the crowd with his manic run to the ring than Akiyama did during his solemn entrance.

At the opening bell, Akiyama held out his glove, but Shibata refused to touch, setting the tone for this fight. Fighting in his judo gi, Akiyama opened with low kicks while Shibata circled, occasionally sailing a punch wide. An Akiyama throw got him into side then full mount, where he used the sleeve to work an ezekiel choke for the submission.

"It was in this venue, Osaka-Jo Hall, that I lost as a judo fighter," said Akiyama in his post-fight interview, "so I wore my judogi tonight to get revenge!

Asked about the scattered boos that met his ring entrance, Akiyama said, "Yes, probably, I was the only fighter receiving boos from the crowd -- if that's to be my role, I'll just have to embrace it, to excite the audience and improve the event!"

A Featherweight Superfight (64kg/141lbs) brought a couple of Japanese -- Hideo Tokoro and Takeshi Yamazaki -- to the ring.

After a bit of sparring Yamazaki came in and swept for a takedown and side mount, but Tokoro held the left arm in defense and soon the fighters were standing again. Tokoro fired in a right straight punch to drop his opponent, and leapt in with hammer strikes, but Yamazaki weathered the storm and got back to his feet to clinch for a re-start. For the second time in the round, a Tokoro kick connected below Yamazaki's belt, prompting a second recovery-time stoppage and a yellow card for Tokoro. After resumption Tokoro landed a couple of rights before Yamazaki got a takedown, but Tokoro again defended well with the legs and Yamazaki could not set anything up.

In the second Tokoro again landed the better strikes. Yamazaki paying a terrible price for his leg takedowns, which returned poor dividends on the mat. A losing strategy for Yamazaki, whose battered face exuded exhaustion as Tokoro's arm was raised for the win by unanimous decision.

Japanese fighter Kodo, a late substitute for the injured "Kid" Yamamoto, met Joseph Benavidez of the United States in a Featherweight (62kg/137lbs) contest.

A dominating performance by Benavidez that saw him quickly diving in for a double leg takedown followed by a couple of slams to start. Denied the full mount, Benavidez took the fight off the mat, then threw Kodo to get the mount before bringing up a front choke for the tapout.

"I want to thank Kodo for taking this fight on short notice," said Benavidez from center ring. "I love fighting in Japan and I love fighting in DREAM, I want to be the champion!"

Japanese grapplers Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Motoki Miyazawa met in a 76kg/168lbs match.

Miyazawa tied up Hironaka in the early going, overhooking and bringing the legs up round the waist. More tight positioning for a stalemate when the pair went to the mat. After a re-stand, the boys began to strike. Hironaka got the better combinations through, scoring with a right straight punch that was the strike of the fight. With Miyazawa's face badly bloodied, the ringside doctor stopped it, giving Hironaka the win.

In the evening's opening fight, Japanese armbar specialist Daisuke Nakamura faced Andy Ologun -- a Nigerian-born, Japan-based television personality and fighter who has competed but once in MMA. Ologun nevertheless made an aggressive start, firing in low kicks and closing with fists, calling out to his opponent to step in and mix it up. But Nakamura got the last word with a takedown and armbar for the tapout win.

All fights were contested under DREAM Rules, with one 10-minute and one 5-minute round.

The DREAM.5 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final attracted a crowd of 11,986 to the Osaka Jo Hall. It was broadcast live in Japan on the TBS network and SkyPerfect; and live in the United States on HDNet Fights (www.hd.net). For broadcast-schedule information in other countries, contact local providers. Visit the K-1 Official Website (www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp) for comprehensive coverage of this and all FEG productions.