"Thunder" and "Lightning" will collide at Saitama Super Arena, as Yushin "Thunder" Okami (28-7 MMA, 12-4 UFC) meets Hector "Lightning" Lombard (32-3-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC on FUEL TV 8.
UFC officials announced the booking late Monday night.
Featuring a light heavyweight headliner between Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann, UFC on FUEL TV 8 takes place March 3 (but airs live in the U.S. on March 2 due to the time difference) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The main card airs on FUEL TV following prelims on Facebook.
Lombard, who migrated to the UFC as the Bellator MMA middleweight champion, saw an incredible 25-fight unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of Tim Boetsch at this past July's UFC 149 event. He rebounded with an impressive first-round knockout of grappling ace Rousimar Palhares at December's UFC on FX 6 event.
Okami brings a two-fight win streak to the bout. Following back-to-back losses to Tim Boetsch and Anderson Silva (in a failed bid for the UFC's middleweight title), Okami has since bouned back with wins over Alan Belcher and Buddy Roberts.
Here's the updated main card for this show, looking pretty damn awesome.
Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann
Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve
Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami
Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez