MMA-ID.com, a social networking site for MMA fighters and fans, announced on Friday that Mirko Crocop will be striking it out with K-1 sensation, Jerome LeBanner at DREAM.4 on June 15 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The fight will be featured as a "Super Fight" somewhere in between the Middleweight Grand Prix quarter final bouts. HDNet announced a new partnership yesterday with FEG which means DREAM.4 will be broadcast live on HDNet Fights including this highly anticipated match up between two of the worlds best strikers.

Crocop recently parted ways with the UFC after losing two in a row.

He tasted a dose of his own medicine at UFC 70 when he got ko’d via head kick ala Gabriel Gonzaga. After re-evaluating his motivation for fighting he got the itch back and made his return to the Japan, joining the fledgling DREAM organization. In Mirko’s debut he made quick work of his less than impressive opponent who at the time had a career record of 3-2. It was basically a warm up for the Croatian who will now face the K-1 veteran in a showdown for the ages.

This won’t be the first time the two have met in close quarters wearing only a pair of 10oz gloves. Filipovic beat LeBanner in 1996 at the K-1 World GP Opening via decision. LeBanner will be out for revenge and will come into this fight a new fighter since his loss over a decade ago.

While LeBanner sports an impressive kick boxing record of 73-14 and holds two K-1 World Grand Prix Titles, he is far less experienced in the field of MMA with a record of only 3-1-1. Jerome will have to brush off the MMA cobwebs as this will be his first fight back in MMA since defeating Jimmy Ambriz via knockout back in March of 2006. All three of LeBanner’s MMA wins came by way of knockout.

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Many fans of Mirko Crocop were expecting a big announcement today regarding his career and what direction he will be taking.

“The Croatian Sensation” as he use be known has had a rough time making the transition from the Pride Fighting organization in Japan to the UFC in America. Known for his fight ending head kicks Mirko was very successful making the transition from K-1 kickboxing to MMA in November of 2001. He exploded onto the scene and was immediately taking on top competition such as Wanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Heath Herring and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

With a total of 24 fights in Pride FC, Crocop stormed through most of his opponents with lightening fast strikes and devastating head kicks leaving a trail of victims in his wake. He won 18 of his 24 fights and lost only 4 taking 2 fights to a draw. He knocked out virtually every one of his opponents and was one of the most feared strikers in mixed martial arts at the time.

Unfortunately the same can not be said about his career in the UFC. Although it is short many expected him to plow through the UFC’s heavyweight division which had always been criticized for lacking in the talent department. Well apparently the opposite was true or something else was going on with the world class striker. Although he won his UFC debut over Eddie Sanchez, his celebration was short lived. In his second bout he was given a dose of his own medicine as Gabriel Gonzaga knocked out Crocop with a brutal head kick at UFC 70. In his last bout he was defeated by Cheick Kongo via decision bringing his UFC record to 1-2.

Since then many have wondered what Crocop’s plans are for the future and rumors are even going around that he could be considering retirement. His legion of fans are nervous and anxious to find out what exactly Mirko is thinking. They patiently wait for their hero to make what could be the most important announcement of his life.

He was expected to make his announcement today February 11 but instead he said this on his daily blog.

February 11

I promised to share some news with you today and I feel bad by not doing so. There are some reasons for this that I can’t speak of at the moment. However, I promise to make the statement as soon as possible. Thank you for supporting me and I hope that little more patience is not too much to ask.

February 12 (Update)

I’m off to Tokyo!
A big announcement will come straight from Japan tomorrow (February 13).
When the official part is done I’ll be able to provide more information about everything,
and believe me, I have many things to say.
What you could easily guess by now is that I won’t be retiring.
I’ll keep on fighting, it’s my life, it’s what I do.

February 13 (Update 2)

FED / DSE press conference in Tokyo introduced a new MMA promotion - DREAM. Mirko was a special guest at the press conference where it was announced that Mirko will continue his career under the roof of a new promotion.
The first event is going to be held in Saitama on March 15 and Mirko will appear on this card, while his opponent is yet to be announced.
More information will follow upon Mirko’s arrival to Zagreb tomorrow, so stay tuned on MMA-ID!

I have watched every single one of Crocop’s fights and I have seen him grow and change over the years. He made a huge transition during his Pride days, going from basically no respect for his opponent to totally respecting his opponent after Nogueira proved to him that he was not immortal. Over the years I have earned tons of respect for Mirko and wish him luck in whatever he chooses to do.

I will update you when Crocop makes his big announcement in the coming days. If you are a fan of Crocop and wish to keep up with him visit his profile and blog at MMA-id.com.

More mma news is on the way!