Mirko Crocop just released news on his blog announcing his opponent for DREAM’s debut on March 15 will be Yoshihiro Nakao.

He seems very excited to finally have an opponent and to be fighting in Japan once again.

It was very important for me to fight as soon as possible and I’m happy that DREAM was able to find the opponent for me.

Yoshihiro Nakao is best known for his bout at K-1 Premium 2005 Dynamite where he was knocked out before the fight even started after kissing Heath Herring on the lips during the stare down (see video). Nakao is 6-1 and hasn’t fought since April of 2007 where he defeated Edson Draggo via neck crank in the first round. His most notable achievements would be his win over Don Frye at K-1 Premium 2004 and his win over Cabbage at Rumble on the Rock 6 in November of 2004.

Mirko is coming off of two hard losses at the hands of Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 and Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70. He cited a "lack of motivation" as the reason for losing the fights. After seriously considering if he had anything left for the sport of MMA, he decided to continue and got back to training. He signed with the new upstart organization DREAM, which is a collaboration between FEG (K-1, Hero’s) and former Pride staff. He seems very happen and more comfortable in Japan.

He hopes to one day avenge his losses in the UFC, especially his loss to Cheick Kongo, who he had a special message for on his blog. Here is a piece of his message to Kongo.

You were lucky enough to fight against me during the deepest crisis of my career. You probably ate a lot of vegetables and potatoes to look like that? I’ll be back in the cage and I hope you will be in the opposite corner. Then we’ll see for how long you’ll be able to talk.

Mirko Filipovic is definitely one of the most exciting and stylish fighters in the game today. His two losses in the UFC were a tragedy but who knows maybe it is for the better. He seemed a lot more at home in Japan and in the ring as did a lot of the fighters who made the transition from Pride to the UFC. Whatever the case I will always be a true fan of the "Croatian Sensation" and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.