“Thunder” and “Lightning” … It’s a pairing forged by nature, as well as one that will play out in a UFC cage in the form of middleweight contenders Yushin Okami and Hector Lombard, who will square off at the upcoming UFC on FUEL 8 show.
The UFC confirmed the matchup late on Monday night.
The match will be a home bout for Okami, as it takes place on March 3 in Saitama, Japan.
The Japanese fighter has captured his last two fights, with a TKO victory over Buddy Roberts, and, more recently, a unanimous decision over Alan Belcher. It will be Okami’s second time fighting in his home country under the UFC banner, as he seemed on his way to a win last year over Tim Boetsch before losing via knockout in one of the year’s best comebacks.
Okami is 28-7 overall and trying to weave his way back into the championship picture after losing a title bid against Anderson Silva in August 2011.
Lombard (32-3-1, 1 no contest) will be making his third start in the Octagon. The Cuban-born star looked flat in his first UFC appearance, losing a lackluster decision to Boetsch, but four months later, he rebounded with a dominant first-round knockout against Brazilian submission specialist Rousimar Palhares.
The event will be headlined by a light-heavyweight fight pitting Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann, and it also includes a heavyweight pairing of Mark Hunt and Stefan Struve.
The event will be the second UFC show held in Japan under the Zuffa ownership team. The first, UFC 144, drew a reported attendance of around 20,000 fans to the same venue that will house the UFC on FUEL 8 show.