UFC: Okami replaces Shogun in Saitama main event

Bengaluru, September 18: The UFC has called on longtime contender Yushin Okami to make his return to the Octagon to battle Ovince Saint Preux as former world champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was forced to withdraw from this weekend's UFC Fight Night main event due to injury.

OSP and Okami are set for battle in a five-round light heavyweight bout at Saitama Super Arena in Japan this Saturday (September 23).

The 36-year-old Kanagawa native sports a four-fight winning streak and also has a remarkable 17-1 record in Japan, and he will be aiming for an 18th victory when he faces No.6 ranked Saint Preux, who is on the back of a submission win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima earlier this year in April.

The victory was Saint Preux' eighth in the Octagon, but he will not hold a UFC experience edge over Okami, who has registered 13 wins during his first stint in the promotion from 2006 to 2013, defeating the likes of Alan Belcher, Mike Swick, Evan Tanner, Mark Munoz, Nate Marquardt and Hector Lombard.