Duffee vs. Gaston, Osawa vs. Fujiwara added to DREAM.17 in July
Two new fights are official for next month's DREAM.17 event: heavyweights Todd Duffee (6-2 MMA, 0-1 DREAM) vs. Nick Gaston (5-0 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and a Japan bantamweight grand-prix third-place fight of Kenji Osawa (17-10-2 MMA, 2-1 DREAM) vs. Keisuke Fujiwara (11-3-4 MMA, 1-0 DREAM).
DREAM.17 is slated for July 16 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.
The Japan bantamweight tournament's finale also concludes at the show.
No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the show.
Duffee, a former top UFC heavyweight prospect who eventually butted heads with management, was released from the organization following a UFC 114 loss to Mike Russow. The 25-year-old, who owns the fastest knockout in UFC history (seven seconds), then took a late-notice booking with Alistair Overeem for the vacant DREAM heavyweight championship back in December. Duffee, though, quickly suffered a 19-second knockout loss due to knee strikes and punches.
He looks to avoid a third straight loss when he meets Gaston. "Afrozilla" fights for the first time outside of KOTC, where he's gone undefeated with wins over Josh Watson (6-1 at the time) and UFC vet Darrill Schoonover. The Ohio-based fighter's past four victories have come via stoppage.
Osawa, meanwhile, joined DREAM earlier this year after a four-fight (1-2-1) stint with the WEC. In the opening round of the Japan bantamweight grand prix, he picked up his fourth win in five fights with a split-decision victory over Takafumi Otsuka. But later that night, Masakazu Imanari submitted him in a semifinal-round fight.
Osawa was expected to fight fellow semifinalist Atsushi Yamamoto in the third-place fight, and the winner would gain entry into a worldwide DREAM bantamweight grand prix expected to kick off later this year. Yamamoto, though, pulled out of the fight with an eye injury, which opened the door for Fujiwara.
Fujiwara competed in the grand prix and suffered a decision loss to Masakazu Imanari in an opening-round fight. Prior to the defeat, the ZST champion went 4-0-1 in his previous five fights.
The latest DREAM.17 card now includes:
Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Willamy Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Source: Duffee vs. Gaston, Osawa vs. Fujiwara added to DREAM.17 in July