Perennial Japanese contender Tatsuya Kawajiri (31-7-2) is set to meet UFC veteran Michihiro Omigawa (13-12-1) in a featherweight match-up at DREAM/GLORY’s co-promoted year-end event.
Promotion officials confirmed the booking on Thursday. The bout will be added to the DREAM.18 portion of the night’s card, which already includes the likes of Shinya Aoki vs. Antonio McKee, Melvin Manhoef vs. Denis Kang, Bibiano Fernandes vs. Yoshiro Maeda, and Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai vs. Phil Baroni.
Kawajiri, a longtime standout on the Japanese circuit, rides into the match on a decisive four-fight win streak, with all four wins coming via finish. Known as “Crusher,” the 34-year-old has lost just twice over 11 bouts since 2009, falling short in title matches to then-DREAM champion Aoki and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.
Omigawa, meanwhile, hopes to right the ship after racking up an uninspired 1-4 record during his second UFC stint. The judoka’s lone win over seven total UFC appearances came back at UFC 138, when he took a unanimous judges’ decision over Jason Young.
North American broadcast plans for the DREAM/GLORY year-end event have yet to be finalized.