Former middleweight champion Evan Tanner (32-6) will indeed return to fight Yushin Okami (22-4) at UFC 82: "Pride of a Champion" on March 2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
We first passed along news of the match up back in December.
It's certainly a tough test for Tanner -- he hasn't competed in mixed martial arts since defeating Justin Levens via submission (triangle choke) at UFC 59: "Reality Check" back in April 2006.
In addition, Okami has been ripping through his opponents (sans Rich Franklin) en route to a potential title shot opportunity.
This is a great fight on a great fight card. And with this latest report from UFC.com we now have a clearer picture of the proposed line up.
Let's take a quick look (in no particular order):
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (20-4) vs. Dan Henderson (22-6)
170 lbs.: Diego Sanchez (17-2) vs. David Bielkheden (12-5)*
170 lbs.: Jon Fitch (15-2) vs. Chris Wilson (13-3)*
185 lbs.: Evan Tanner (32-6) vs. Yushin Okami (21-4)
170 lbs.: Josh Koscheck (9-2) vs. Dustin Hazelett (10-3)
Hvywt: Cheick Kongo (11-3-1) vs. Heath Herring (27-13)*
Hvywt.: Andrei Arlovski (11-5) vs. Jake O'Brien (10-0)*
155 lbs.: Jorge Gurgel (11-3) vs. John Halverson (16-5)*
170 lbs.: Luke Cummo (6-4) vs. Luigi Fioravanti (11-3)*
*Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com.
That's a ton of fantastic match ups and more than likely not enough time to show them all on the air.
Already, we know that the welterweight bout between Josh Koscheck and Dustin Hazelett will not be guaranteed to air.
And it's possible with Andrei Arlovski on the last fight of his contract that we will not see him compete, either.
Feel free to tell us which fights you would want to catch most in the comments section below.
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