Wanderlei Silva kicks Rich Franklin during their UFC 147 bout in Brazil. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann will face each other in the main event at UFC on FUEL TV 8 in Japan, the company announced late Wednesday evening.
The match-up headlines the event, which takes place March 2 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.
Although both fighters have fought at middleweight for the last two years, the UFC pits the two one weight class higher at light heavyweight.
Silva (34-12-1) last fought at UFC 147 in a loss to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. The bout was a rematch to their catchweight bout at UFC 99 from June 2009. Silva’s last fight at 205 pounds was against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 92, a bout that he lost by first-round knockout.
Stann (12-5), a former WEC light heavyweight champion, is fresh off a unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 152 in September. Stann’s last attempt at light heavyweight was against Phil Davis at UFC 109 in February 2010. Davis topped Stann by unanimous decision in the contest.
UFC officials also confirmed a previous GRACIEMAG.com report that Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt will meet at the event in a heavyweight bout. The contest will be the card’s co-main event.
UFC on FUEL TV 8 will be the UFC’s first trip to Japan since February at UFC 144.
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