Nick Kirk Makes Bellator Return

September 6 update: Joe Warren was declared unable to compete and the Warren vs Kirk fight has been cancelled. Kirk will NOT fight at Bellator 98.

Bellator MMA 98 - September 7, 2013

Minneapolis bantamweight Nick Kirk, who trains at The Academy in Brooklyn Park, will return to the +Bellator MMA cage at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 7. His opponent will be former Bellator World champion Joe Warren.

Kirk (10-2) made his Bellator debut in January, losing by split decision to Tony Zelinski. A submission-victory at a smaller show in Bismarck on April 13 got Kirk back in the win column. His return to the +SPIKE TV promotion won't be an easy one. Joe Warren (8-3) is a former world champion with Bellator, but has not fought since November of 2012.

Fightcard (tentative):

• Middleweight title: Alexander Shlemenko (47-7) vs Brett Cooper (19-8)
• Bantamweight Tourney semi: Nick Kirk (10-2) vs Joe Warren (8-3)
• Middleweight Tourney quarter: Mikkel Parlo (9-1) vs Brian Rogers (10-5)
• Middleweight Tourney quarter: Perry Filkins (7-1) vs Jeremy Kimball (9-3)
• Middleweight Tourney quarter: Andreas Spang (8-3) vs Justin Torrey (7-0)
• Middleweight Tourney quarter: Jason Butcher (6-0) Giva Santana (18-2)

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DREAM 11 set for Tuesday in Japan

The conclusion to the Dream Featherweight Grand Prix will happen on Tuesday when the semifinals and final take place at DREAM 11.  The semifinal matchups feature American Joe Warren facing Brazilian Bibiano Fernandes.  An all-Japan matchup between Hideo Tokoro and Hiroyuki Takaya is the other semifinal.

Headlining the event will be a DREAM Lightweight Championship bout between current champ Joachim Hansen and Shinya Aoki.  This will be a rematch of a bout that took place at DREAM 5 in July of 2008.  Hanson knocked out Aoki in under five minutes that night, but has not fought since due to injury.  Aoki is 4-1 since these two last met and will be out for revenge.

The DREAM Super Hulk Tournament will also continue with semifinal bouts.  Sokoudjou will face Bob Sapp in one fight.  Sapp replaces current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi, who dropped out of the tournament after defeating Mark Hunt in the quarterfinals.

The second semifinal of the Super Hulk Tournament features 7'2" Hong Man Choi facing veteran Japanese middleweight Ikuhisa Minowa.  Choi weighed in at 319 while Minowa, who defeated Sapp in the quarterfinals, was at 192.

HDNet will air the event live beginning at 6 AM (U.S. Central Time).

DREAM 11 fightcard:
Lightweight Title: Joachim Hansen (19-7-1) vs. Shinya Aoki (21-4)
Featherweight GP Finals: semifinal winners
Featherweight GP: Joe Warren (2-0) vs. Bibiano Fernandes (5-2)
Featherweight GP: Hideo Tokoro (22-16-1) vs. Hiroyuki Takaya (11-6-1)
Featherwieght GP Reserve Bout: Daiki Hata (11-5-3) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (7-7)
Super Hulk: Sokoudjou (6-4) vs. Bob Sapp (10-5-1)
Super Hulk: Ikuhisa Minowa (42-30-8) vs. Hong Man Choi (2-2)
Middleweights: Kazushi Sakuraba (24-12-1) vs. Rubin Williams (0-0)
Lightweights: Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2) vs. Melchor Manibusan (2-3)