Jorge Santiago vs Mamed Khalidov rematch now planned for March Sengoku Raiden Championship event

In an early shuffling of the upcoming fight card in March, Sengoku Raiden Championship now looks to pit its middleweight champion, Jorge Santiago (21-8), against Mamed Khalidov (20-3-1) for a rematch. Unlike their first meeting at Sengoku 11 last November, this bout will have a belt on the line.

Earlier reports indicated that Santiago will face Kazuo Misaki, whom he defeated in January, 2009 to win the middleweight championship,  in a title bout, while Khalidov drew Canadian veteran Joe Doerksen in a title eliminator match.

First reported by KSW, Khalidov has now been granted a much-deserved title shot ahead of Misaki.

Khalidov, veteran of the Polish MMA organization, KSW, is in the midst of an 18-fight undefeated streak. Aside from a September 2008 draw against Daniel Tabera, he has won seventeen fights since October 2005.

 In his Sengoku debut against Santiago, he routed the middleweight champion in a non-title affair. After Santiago controlled the action during the opening frame of the fight with top control on the ground, Khalidov stunned him with a hammerfist delivered off his back before swarming with a flurry of punches to earn a first-round TKO victory.

Loss to Khalidov halted Santiago's nine-fight winning streak. Prior to Sengoku 11, Santiago captured tournament titles in Strikeforce and Sengoku, capping off the victory run with the inaugural Sengoku middleweight title.

Santiago vs. Khalidov will likely serve as the headliner for the March 7 event, which will take place at Ryogoku Kokugikan, where the two met last November at Sengoku 11. The event will be broadcast in North America on HDNet.