Nick Denis will return to Sengoku as a replacement for Wilson Reis against Cage Force featherweight champion Yuji Hoshino at Sengoku 12 on March 7, the promotion announced Wednesday.

Also, King of Pancrase titleholder Marlon Sandro will face Tomonari Kanomata in a featherweight bout.

Denis (9-1) of Ronin MMA in Canada fought twice for Sengoku in 2009, beating Seiya Kawahara by TKO and losing to Sandro by KO. He replaces Reis, who was mysteriously announced for the event, despite being contractually obligated to fight in Bellator's season two tournament.

Hoshino (16-7-7) lost in his Sengoku debut last November to Sandro. He entered the fight on a four-fight win streak.

The heavy-handed Sandro (15-1) was a finalist last year in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix and his only career loss was a controversial decision in the finals. At Sengoku 12, Sandro knocked out Hoshino in the first round.

Kanomata (15-4-5) is making his first step on the big stage. He began his career in 2002 with Shooto, moved onto GCM in 2006 and last year fought three times for Pancrase.

In the main event of Sengoku 12, Jorge Santiago defends his middleweight title against Mamed Khalidov.

Fight Card:

Jorge Santiago vs. Mamed Khalidov
Yuji Hoshino vs. Nick Denis
Shigeki Osawa vs. Kang Kyung Ho
Marlon Sandro vs. Tomonari Kanomata
Kiuma Kunioku vs. Leo Santos
Maxi Blanco vs. Chang-Hyun Kim
Akihiro Gono vs. Diego Gonzalez
Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao vs. Henry "Sentoryu" Miller