Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight smashing machine Wanderlei Silva, who recently inked a multi-year deal with RIZIN FF, will return to action on April 17, 2016 in Nagoya, Japan, as one half of a grappling tag team main event.
His partner?
None other than longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) and pro wrestling veteran Kiyoshi Tamura. Together, they’ll take on the team of Kazushi Sakuraba and Hideo Tokoro, also remnants of the now-defunct PRIDE era.
Silva, fresh off his recent contract with Bellator MMA (more on that here), is expected to compete under MMA rules at a later date, presumably after “The Axe Murderer’s” stateside suspension expires in 2017.
Elsewhere on the card, UFC import Daron Cruickshank collides with lightweight submission expert Shinji Sasaki, while decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and women’s MMA heavyweight prospect Gabi Garcia locks horns with two-time Pankration champion Anna Malyukova.
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