Two-time K-1 Hero's champion Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante has agreed to face off with Japanese stalwart Tatsuya Kawajiri at Dream 9 on May 26, according to sources in Cavalcante’s American Top Team camp.
The 25-year-old Brazilian will be venturing back into action after a nearly 13-month layoff, the longest of his five-year career.
Kawajiri, 31, has been a fixture in the Japanese MMA scene since 2000. He worked his way up the ladder from Shooto, where he held the 154-pound title, to Pride and now Dream.
Always ranked among the top lightweights in the world, Kawajiri (23-5-2) returned from a TKO loss to Eddie Alvarez in Dream’s lightweight grand prix last summer to dispatch Ross Ebanez by submission earlier this month.
The card is slated for Saitama, Japan.