UFC Confirms Okami For Franklin At “Victory” On 6/16

The following is from UFC.com:

Okami to face Franklin in UFC 72 Main Event

By Thomas Gerbasi

After a knee injury forced Danish striker Martin Kampmann to withdraw from his UFC 71 main event bout against Rich Franklin earlier this week, Japanese standout Yushin Okami has agreed to replace `The Hitman’ on June 16th at The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Okami (21-3) came to the UFC with little fanfare in 2006, despite pre-Octagon wins over veteran Nick Thompson (via submission) and current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (via disqualification). But with punishing victories over Alan Belcher, Kalib Starnes, and Rory Singer in 2006, fight fans started to pay a lot of attention to the pride of Kanagawa.

It was his clear cut unanimous decision win over rising star Mike Swick at UFC 69 in April that truly put the 25-year old Okami on the map though, and as he enters his June bout with Franklin, he is knocking on the door of a world title rematch against Silva.

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