The Asian based ONE Fighting Championship promotion announced a light heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce champ Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral (36-10) and K-1/MMA striker Melvin Manhoef (24-9-1) for their third show slated for the end of March in Singapore.
The news was announced by the promotion at a press conference on Tuesday.
The ONE FC 3 event will represent the first co-promoted show with new partners DREAM, and will take place on March 31 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
Also announced for the co-main event is a bout between DREAM bantamweight Masakazu Imanari (24-10-2) and undefeated Filipino fighter Kevin Belingon(9-0).
Sobral has not competed since losing to Dan Henderson via knockout back in December 2010 in a Strikeforce light heavyweight contender bout. His record stands at 1-2 over his last three which includes a decision win against Robbie Lawler and a knockout loss to Gegard Mousasi in a title bout. ‘Babalu’ has been a mainstay at Kings MMA in California, helping other fighters such as Fabricio Werdum and Wanderlei Silva prepare for their fights over the past year.
Manhoef had his last MMA fight in March of last year, dropping his third straight fight. At the Strikeforce show, he was submitted in the first round by Tim Kennedy. The other two losses also came by first round finishes, a submission loss to Tatsuya Mizuno at DREAM 15, and to Robbie Lawler by KO at Strikeforce: Miami. Manhoef fought this past weekend in a kickboxing match, losing to Tyrone Spong at a “it’s Showtime” event in Amsterdam.