Yushin Okami will take on Tim Boetsch in a middleweight bout at UFC 144 on Feb. 26, 2012 in Japan, UFC president Dana White said Tuesday on UFC.com.
Okami (26-6), who is coming off a failed attempt in August to dethrone Anderson Silva, will be fighting in Japan for the first time since June 2006. Two months after the GCM fight in Tokyo, Okami joined the UFC and went on to compile a 10-3 record.
Boetsch (14-4) out of AMC Pankration has reinvented himself as a middleweight this year, scoring wins over Kendall Grove and Nick Ring.
The last time the UFC presented an event in Japan was back at UFC 29 in December 2000.
In championship action at UFC 144, Frankie Edgar will defend his lightweight title against Ben Henderson. Yoshihiro Akiyama will also appear on the card, making his welterweight debut against Jake Shields.