Two embattled American heavyweights could be on their way to Japan. According to reports from Heavy MMA, former UFC champion Tim Sylvia (30-7) and former Strikeforce contender Brett Rogers (12-4) have agreed to meet at DREAM's New Year's Eve card, "DREAM: New Year! 2011."
Sylvia was briefly considered for a rematch against Fedor Emelianenko, but the fight never materialized.
"The Maine-iac" initially stumbled after leaving the UFC in 2008, dropping two straight contests to Emelianenko and former boxing champion Ray Mercer. Since then Sylvia has righted his ship, ripping off wins in six of his last seven appearances, including a decision victory over Andreas Kraniotakes in early November.
Rogers, however, has seen his stock plummet after losing four of his last five bouts, capped by a split decision loss to Eddie Sanchez at Titan Fighting Championships. The beleaguered 30-year-old also faces a 60-day jail sentence for a domestic abuse charge stemming from a June incident in which "The Grim" allegedly beat his wife in front of their Apple Valley home. Rogers is expected to be released from prison on December 13th.
"DREAM: Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011" is scheduled for December 31st at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The card will air on HDNet.
"DREAM: Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011" fight card:
Bantamweight Grand Prix:
Bantamweight Semifinal: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Bantamweight Semifinal: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Bantamweight Final: Winner of Imanari/Banuelos vs. Winner of Fernandes/Marques
Bantamweight Tourney-Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
Main card:
Featherweight Championship: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi Inoue
Lightweight Championship: Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko vs. TBD
Heavyweight: Tim Sylvia vs. Brett Rogers
Featherweight: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Welterweight: Hayato Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Women's Flyweight: Karla Benitez vs. Megumi Fujii