A 123-pound title trilogy is in now on the books for top Shooto promoter Sustain's "Shooto Tradition 2" on July 18 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Shooto world champion Shinichi "BJ" Kojima (Pictures) will make the second defense of his title against the man he wrested it from, Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures).

Sherdog.com broke the news of the third clash between Yamaguchi and Kojima last month. Sustain was initially interested in matching Kojima against Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) again, following their second and highly controversial bout in March 2007, which ended in a split draw that most observers felt Urushitani won. However, Urushitani could only muster a draw in May against Ryuichi Miki (Pictures), while Yamaguchi's victories over Yuki Shoujou (Pictures) and Masaaki Sugawara (Pictures) earlier this year have raised him to first in the Shooto world rankings, making him Kojima's title challenger.

The bout is not only the third clash between Kojima and Urushitani, but also the third title tilt between them. The two first met in March 2006, when Yamaguchi was amidst his nearly three-year reign as Shooto world champion. The bout ended in a majority draw. Yamaguchi and Kojima rematched that October, where "BJ" ended the reign of Shooto's afroed ace, taking his back and choking him unconscious in a shocking 98 seconds.

Since claiming the title, "BJ" has been viewed as a disappointment. After his highly questionable draw with Urushitani, Kojima, 29, decided to campaign in Shooto's 132-pound division and attempt to fulfill his goal of being a two-division champion. That dream was severely dashed, as Kojima suffered a pair of miserable losses to young Brazilian Eduardo Dantas (Pictures) and So Tazawa (Pictures) in November and January.

The 31-year-old Yamaguchi is Shooto's only two-division champion, having reigned at both 132 and 123 pounds. As aforementioned, the longtime Shooto king is coming off a pair of victories over young up-and-comers Yuki Shoujou (Pictures) and Masaaki Sugawara (Pictures) in February and March in two of the most thrilling Shooto bouts of 2008.

Sustain has also announced a 154-pound Shooto Pacific Rim title bout between Yusuke Endo (Pictures) and Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures). The Pacific Rim title has been rendered vacant again, following former champion Takashi Nakakura (Pictures) winning the Shooto world 154-pound championship in May.

The 25-year-old Endo suffered a setback in his bid to become Shooto world champion last November, when he was blown out in a lopsided decision against the aforementioned Nakakura, which cost him his chance at a title bout. However, Endo got back into the win column in May, when he took a first-round submission victory over an anonymous Vince Ortiz (Pictures).

The ever-tough Togashi had a chance to make an impact last August when he came stateside to face gritty Brian Cobb (Pictures), but was pounded out in the third stanza. Togashi's last action came in May, when he fought to a draw with up-and-coming lightweight Yutaka Ueda.

Also added to the card is a 132-pound clash between undefeated 21-year-old former rookie champion Hiromasa Ogikubo (Pictures) and Hiroyuki Tanaka (Pictures), and in a 154-pound rookie tournament bout, star Kiguchi pupil Ikuo Usuda will face Junpei Konno.