...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
It's been almost two and a half years since Yoshihiro Akiyama last stepped foot in the cage, but the UFC is bringing him back this September for their Fight Night event in Japan.
Though they haven't officially announced the bout on their website, the hype video produced this week for the event revealed that he'll be taking on Australia's Kyle Noke on the card.
The Japanese Judoka entered the UFC five years ago at UFC 100, where he defeated Alan Belcher in a controversial decision. It would be another year before he'd return, losing in the third round against Chris Leben in a drama-filled fight at UFC 116.
Over the next 18 months, Akiyama would lose three more fights in a row to Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, and Jake Shields.
With those fights all coming against top ten competition at both middleweight and welterweight, the UFC did not release him, but he's been sidelined with injuries over the last two years.
He'll now take on Noke, who hopes to bounce back from a loss to Patrick Cote in April after a stint coaching on "The Ultimate Fighter: Nations." Noke has lost three of four fights himself, bringing him to 4-3 overall in the UFC.
The UFC Fight Night 52 event in Japan takes place on Sept. 20, headlined by a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson, and airs live in the U.S. on UFC Fight Pass.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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