Matchmaking

• The third event from Affliction, expected Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., appears to be shaping up. Gegard Mousasi announced on the M-1 Global web site this week that he will face Vitor Belfort on the show, though he told Sherdog.com later in the week he is unsure if Belfort is amenable to meeting at a 195-pound catch-weight. Mousasi still expects to fight on the card, possibly against Renato “Babalu” Sobral. In addition to a Fedor Emelianenko-Josh Barnett main event, other matches reported for the event this week were Jay Hieron vs. Paul Daley and Dan Lauzon vs. Chris Horodecki.

• Dream announced several fights for its Dream 10 card in July, including Shinya Aoki vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro and Paulo Filho vs. Melvin Manhoef.

• T.J. Grant vs. Rory Markham has been booked in a welterweight scrap on the June 20 Ultimate Fighter Finale card in Las Vegas, according to MMAWeekly.com. Grant’s management had originally told Sherdog.com that the Canadian upstart had agreed to face Martin Kampmann. The surging Dane apparently declined the bout.

• A heavyweight fight between Dave Herman and Eddie Sanchez is booked for the Bellator Fighting Championships on June 19 in Hollywood, Fla. Sanchez is coming off a 10-second knockout in his Bellator debut; Herman defeated Josh Barnes via first-round TKO after landing a knee and ground-and-pound in his promotional debut.

• International Fight League veteran Tim Kennedy will fight well-traveled welterweight Nick Thompson on June 19 on the Strikeforce Challengers card in Kent, Wash., on Showtime. Kennedy announced the fight on HDNet’s "Inside MMA." Also confirmed this past week for the card is Cory Devela vs. Luke Rockhold. The card will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Joey Villasenor and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.

• Yet another opponent for Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante has fallen through, as Jared Hamman bowed out of a June 6 fight on a Strikeforce card in St. Louis due to injury. Renato "Babalu" Sobral bowed out of the fight as well, which was originally set as a light heavyweight title match. Mike Kyle appears to be in as the late replacement, Feijao’s manager Ed Soares told the Sherdog Radio Network. The Strikeforce card will be headlined by Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields in a middleweight matchup.