The most successful Japanese fighter in UFC history, Yushin “Thunder” Okami (26-6) will take on Tim “The Barabarian” Boetsch (14-4) at UFC 144 on Feb. 26 when the organization returns to Japan for the first time since Dec. 2000 when UFC 29 took place in Tokyo.
UFC President Dana White confirmed Tuesday via the company website that both fighters had verbally agreed to the bout.
Also, Boetsch posted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon that his bout agreement was signed and delivered.
The 30-year-old Okami is coming off a second round TKO loss to middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 134 in Rio back in August. Prior to that he had scored a TKO win over Lucio Linhares, a split decision win over Mark Munoz and a unanimous decision win over Nate Marquardt to earn the title shot.
Boetsch, also 30, made his middleweight debut in May with a unanimous decision win over Kendall Grove at UFC 130. He returned in September defeating Nick Ring via unanimous decision at UFC 135.
Other bouts confirmed for UFC 144 include a lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson and a welterweight match-up between Jake Shields and Yoshihiro Akiyama.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who became a star in Japan during his Pride days, is also expected to fight on this card. Keep an eye on our Upcoming Events page as more bouts are confirmed for UFC 144.