Former rivals Tatsuya “Crusher” Kawajiri and Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen will square off for a second time at DREAM.17 on September 24th in Saitama, Japan. Kawajiri will make his featherweight debut in the fight after Hansen, a former DREAM Lightweight Champion, dropped down in weight last year.

The pair first faced off for Hansen’s Shooto Welterweight Championship at 154 pounds in February 2006, but the bout ended after just eight seconds due to an accidental low blow from Hansen. Now five and a half years later, Hansen will have a chance to gain a measure of revenge in the rematch.

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Just days after Alistair Overeem was abruptly released from his Strikeforce contract, three of the former champion’s Golden Glory teammates have also been cut. Overeem’s brother, Valentijn, along with UFC fighter John Olav Einemo and ex-Strikeforce champ Marloes Coenen were all released.

News of Alistair Overeem’s release was first noted by Inside MMA on Friday, and Golden Glory rep Martijn de Jong confirmed the remaining cuts today. While contractual issues are believed to have played a role, a “lack of card space” was named as the reason for Coenen and Valentijn’s dismissals.

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The women took centre stage in a busy month of MMA in July, and Miesha “Takedown” Tate capped off the month by winning the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship from veteran Marloes “Rumina” Coenen. Tate takes over the top spot at 135 and cracks the top five pound-for-pound.

There were more shakeups in the women’s ranks, as Seo Hee Ham’s upset of “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi resulted in many changes in the 115-pound division. Elsewhere, Dan “Hendo” Henderson stopped Fedor Emelianenko and now finds himself simultaneously ranked in two divisions for the second time.

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Miesha “Takedown” Tate added yet another title belt to her collection tonight with a fourth-round submission of Marloes “Rumina” Coenen at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Henderson” in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The win earned Tate the newly-renamed Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship.

Tate used takedowns and controlled on the ground during the first half of the bout, and fought through a tough second round that saw Coenen take her back and try for submissions. After taking Coenen down in round four, Tate secured the choke for the win and set up a rematch with Sarah Kaufman.

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Strikeforce returned to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois tonight for one of its biggest events at Strikeforce: “Fedor vs Henderson.” The card was headlined by a heavyweight bout between “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko and Strikeforce 205-pound champ Dan “Hendo” Henderson.

The newly-renamed Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship was on the line this evening when Marloes “Rumina” Coenen defended against Miesha “Takedown” Tate, and Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley and Paul “Semtex” Daley faced off at 170. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann put her standout wrestling skills to good use this evening, as she outwrestled former rival Tonya Evinger to a clear-cut Unanimous Decision victory at Titan Fighting Championship 19 in Kansas City, Kansas. The win was unquestionably her biggest to date.

McMann’s takedowns were too much for the smaller Evinger, who took the fight on one week’s notice and quickly found herself in the co-main event after original headliner Bobby Lashley withdrew from the card. McMann will next compete for ProElite on the promotion’s August 27th comeback card.

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Titan Fighting Championship returned to the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas tonight for Titan Fighting Championship 19 on HDNet. The event was headlined by a lightweight bout between WEC veteran “The” James Krause and former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion Clay French.

The co-main event featured an intriguing women’s matchup, as Olympic silver medallist Sara McMann faced fellow wrestler Tonya Evinger at 140 pounds, while Rob Kimmons and Brendan Seguin faced off in a battle of veterans at 205. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the card.

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Three bouts have now been officially confirmed for the upcoming DREAM.17 event on September 24th in Saitama, Japan. DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki will face former WEC champion “Razor” Rob McCullough in one of the featured matchups announced for the card.

Also confirmed for the event today was a lightweight bout between former Sengoku ace Satoru Kitaoka and ex-Shooto champion Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire. The fights join a previously announced matchup between Caol “Uno Shoten” Uno and “Lion” Takeshi Inoue, which was booked earlier this week.

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