The Mac
12-30-2010, 07:47 PM
A heavyweight title will be up for grabs, after all.
Officials today announced that the winner of Friday's DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010" bout between Alistair Overeem (33-11 MMA, 4-0 DREAM) and Todd Duffee (6-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) will earn a heavyweight title.
It'll be an interim championship for a DREAM weight class that never has boasted a champion.
DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010" takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs in the U.S. on HDNet (4 a.m. ET).
Before the recent booking of Duffee, DREAM officials talked about Overeem possibly fighting for the organization's first-ever heavyweight title. However, with Wednesday's official announcement of the fight, the bout was slated as a three-rounder.
But today during a press conference for the event, officials confirmed an interim title will be on the line.
Overeem, who's also Strikeforce's current heavyweight champion, competes less than a month removed from an impressive performance in the K-1 World Grand Prix, where he claimed the kickboxing promotion's tournament championship. His most recent MMA win came in May, when he made a successful Strikeforce title defense against Brett Rogers for his eighth straight win.
Duffee hasn't fought since May, when he was upset at UFC 114 by Chicago fighter Mike Russow. After dominating the fight for two-plus rounds, Russow landed a right hand that knocked Duffee out cold in one of the most dramatic come-from-behind wins in UFC history. Duffee was expected to take on Jon Madsen at UFC 121 but withdrew from the fight in August with a knee injury. Less than a month later, he received an email from the UFC notifying him that he had been cut by the promotion because of his loss to Russow. UFC president Dana White later admitted "Duffee's attitude" also played a part in the release.
Officials today announced that the winner of Friday's DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010" bout between Alistair Overeem (33-11 MMA, 4-0 DREAM) and Todd Duffee (6-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) will earn a heavyweight title.
It'll be an interim championship for a DREAM weight class that never has boasted a champion.
DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010" takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs in the U.S. on HDNet (4 a.m. ET).
Before the recent booking of Duffee, DREAM officials talked about Overeem possibly fighting for the organization's first-ever heavyweight title. However, with Wednesday's official announcement of the fight, the bout was slated as a three-rounder.
But today during a press conference for the event, officials confirmed an interim title will be on the line.
Overeem, who's also Strikeforce's current heavyweight champion, competes less than a month removed from an impressive performance in the K-1 World Grand Prix, where he claimed the kickboxing promotion's tournament championship. His most recent MMA win came in May, when he made a successful Strikeforce title defense against Brett Rogers for his eighth straight win.
Duffee hasn't fought since May, when he was upset at UFC 114 by Chicago fighter Mike Russow. After dominating the fight for two-plus rounds, Russow landed a right hand that knocked Duffee out cold in one of the most dramatic come-from-behind wins in UFC history. Duffee was expected to take on Jon Madsen at UFC 121 but withdrew from the fight in August with a knee injury. Less than a month later, he received an email from the UFC notifying him that he had been cut by the promotion because of his loss to Russow. UFC president Dana White later admitted "Duffee's attitude" also played a part in the release.