Dream 17: Tatsuya Kawajiri drops down to featherweight to fight Joachim Hansen on Sept. 24

Well if at first you don't succeed (in multiple promotions), drop a weight class and try again.
That's the game plan for Japanese fighting sensation Tatsuya Kawajiri, who will make the drop down to featherweight for his upcoming clash against the always game Joachim Hansen at Dream 17 on Sept. 24. Officials announced the planned match-up for the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan today.
This will not be the first time these two have met, as they got familiar with one another back in 2006 in a bout that lasted all of eight seconds thanks to "Hellboy" going all gung-ho on "Crusher's" groin, leading to a disqualification.
In his last 18 fights, Kawajiri has lost five times. At a glance, that's not bad and upon further inspection it's even more understandable. Those five defeats came at the collective hands of Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez (x2), Eddie Alvarez and Takanori Gomi.
No joke, folks.
But, after two failed attempts at capturing lightweight gold in both Dream and Strikeforce, the former Shooto champion has made the decision to sweat out enough weight to hit the 143-pound limit.

Waiting to greet him in his featherweight debut is Hansen, a Norwegian veteran whose career has been decidedly up and down over the past five years.
His biggest win came in 2008, a stunning knockout of the previously mentioned Aoki that earned him the Dream lightweight championship. However, he dropped the strap right back to the "Tobikan Judan" in his very next fight.
No different than Kawajiri, "Hellboy" quickly made the decision to drop to featherweight, where he would lose his first two, including a title fight against Bibiano Fernandes, before ripping off three straight.
Now the two lethal foreigners are primed to square off in what should be an ass-kicking good time.
Also announced for the Sept. 24 event is a lightweight scrap between the previously mentioned Aoki taking on American import "Razor" Rob McCullough.
DREAM 17 will also feature the opening round of the promotion's upcoming Bantamweight Grand Prix Tournament. Participants for the 135-pound grand prix include Bibiano Fernandes, Hideo Tokoro, Kenji Osawa, Masakazu Imanari and Rodolfo Marques.