Strikeforce and DREAM will announce a partnership that could see an exchange of fighters between the two promotions.

Strikeforce Chief Executive Officer Scott Coker revealed Monday night in a radio appearance on The Carmichael Dave Show that the number two mixed martial arts promotion in the USA will enter into an "alliance" with Fighting Entertainment Group, the parent company of the number one mixed martial arts promotion in Japan.

The partnership could open up new possibilities for the recently-signed Fedor Emelianenko, who had seemingly only Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers and Fabricio Werdum as opponents in Strikeforce. Fedor could also find himself fighting in Japan after his fall Strikeforce on Showtime date. The former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion is well-loved in the country and from 2003-2007 took pride in a tradition to compete every New Year's Eve in Japan's annual blockbuster year-end show.

"We've talked about (the partnership) for a long time," Coker said on the Northern California sports program. "It's finally going to happen now so maybe (Sergei) Kharitonov could fight Fedor at some point."

Besides more options for Fedor, there's an entire pool of new opponents for each promotion that could also give a clearer understanding to world rankings outside of the UFC.

The current champions and direct title contenders under DREAM are Joachim Hansen (lightweight champion), Shinya Aoki, Marius Zaromskis (welterweight champion), Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Bibiano Fernandes, Joe Warren, Hiroyuki Takaya and Hideo Tokoro.

Meanwhile, the champions with Strikeforce are Alistair Overeem (heavyweight), Renato "Babalu" Sobral (light heavyweight), Cung Le (middleweight), Josh Thomson (lightweight), Gilbert Melendez (interim lightweight) and the August 15 winner of Nick Diaz versus Jay Hieron.

The two promotions already share the services of former DREAM Middleweight Champion and current number one Strikeforce light heavyweight title contender Gegard Mousasi, who also happens to be under contract with Fedor's management, M-1 Global.

Coker added that more details on Fedor's future, including the date and opponent, could be announced as early as Thursday.

Fresh off of his first round submission victory over heavyweight Mark Hunt at DREAM 9 event, former DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi confirmed that his next fight will be against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort at Affliction 3 on August 1.

Prior to his win over Hunt, Mousasi (25-2-1) last competed on K-1 and DREAM's co-promoted K-1 DYNAMITE!! 2008 back on New Year's Eve. He TKO'd Musashi in the first round of their kickboxing bout.

Mousasi's last mixed martial arts tussle came in September when he put Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to sleep in the first round of the Middleweight Grand Prix Finals. With the victory, Mousasi became the first ever middleweight champion of the organization.

Since exiting the UFC over four years ago, Belfort (18-8) had struggled to find his hold form. He dropped three of his next five, however has rebouded nicely to take his last four.

Belfort tells Brazilian MMA magazine TATAME that he would face Mousasi only at middleweight. Belfort has been very successful as a middleweight, winning both of his Affliction fights with devastating knockouts over Terry Martin and Matt Lindland.

Mousasi, who will be making his US debut at the event, extended his win streak to ten with his submission win at DREAM 9 against Hunt in the opening round of the Super Hulk Tournament. Outweighed by 68.4 pounds, Mousasi took Hunt to the mat and snatched an arm for the kimura. Mousasi will face either Ikuhisa Minowa, Hong Man Choi or Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou after the Belfort fight.

The current DREAM Middleweight Champion Gegard Mousasi is reported that he is considering a move to the heavyweight division.

Mousasi holds impressive wins over the likes of Denis Kang, Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.

The Red Devil International team member has trained with current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko as his next step seems to be the light heavyweight division, but that could be temporary if he's serious about stepping up with the big boys in heavyweight division.

Middleweight fighter Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister requested and received his release from his UFC contract following a loss to Yushin "Thunder" Okami at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 in December 27. He will seek a deal with a new employer in 2009. The news was confirmed on Sunday by Lister's management team at Haymaker's Empire.

According to the management team, Lister requested the release and the UFC granted his leaving the promotion. The former Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Absolute Division Champion and King of the Cage (KOTC) Middleweight Champion is already in talks with several promotions, including DREAM and Affliction, for a new deal.

During his time with the UFC, Lister amassed an impressive 4-2 record with wins over fighters like Jeremy Horn and Alessio Sakara, with his only losses coming against Nate Marquardt and Okami in his last bout. However, he has not been a fan favorite due to his reliance on his grappling. He's won nine times by submission but never won by KO or TKO since debuting in September 2000. Eight of of Lister's 19 career fights have gone the distance.

With his release from the UFC, Lister is not looking to sit out for very long. He wants to return soon with a new promotion.

The grappling guru is also looking for a shot at a fighter such as Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza or possibly the new Sengoku Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago to get back in against top competition and prove his meddle as one of the top submission artists in mixed martial arts.

In the ever expanding "quest for the best" ADCC Championships is proud to announce that two of the World's top fighters have agreed to compete in the 2009 ADCC event. ADCC is proud to announce that PRIDE and Affliction Champion Fedor Emelianenko, widely considered the World's best fighter and 2008 DREAM Middleweight Champion Gregard Mousassi are set to compete in ADCC 2009. ADCC Europe President Marko Leistén confirmed the fighter's presence after a meeting with the two fighters manager Aby Echteld in Holland 8th November.

Fedor Emelianenko, after conquering the world of MMA, wants to show the world he is also the best submission grappler in the world. Fedor want to make history and expand on the pioneer spirit of what Mark Kerr did in the late 90's when he was the Champion of PRIDE and became the weight and Absolute Champion of ADCC and went on to defend his title in the Superfights for 2 editions.

Mousassi, the winner of the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix where he defeated former World ABJJ Absolute and ADCC Middleweight Champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the final, also wants to test his ground skills against the top names in Submission Grappling. This sets up some humongous possible match-ups such as a re-match with "Jacare" or facing current ADCC Middleweight Champion and rising UFC star Demian Maia.

World lead organizer Guy Neivens was ecstatic with the addition: "At the top of my wish list I was one name: Fedor Emelianenko! And not only we got him but we also added another world star in Gregard Moussassi. It is a testament to the level and prestige of our conversation that the world's best continue to want to test themselves in our events." And he continued: "We couldn't be any happier. Now it is time for the rest of the world's best fighters to step up to the challenge!"

Taken from: adcombat.com