ONE Championship announces signing of Yushin Okami

A 16-year MMA veteran is making his way to ONE Championship.

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Tuesday the signing of one-time UFC middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami:

Sityodtong did not mention any further details, including what weight class Okami would be competing in. The 35-year-old Japanese fighter has competed primarily at 170 pounds since Oct. 2015. He is the latest high-profile signing by ONE, following a busy 2018 in which the promotion added the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt to the roster.

Okami (35-12) is best known for his two runs with the UFC, the first spanning 2006-13. That initial stint saw Okami earn wins over Alan Belcher, Mike Swick, Evan Tanner, Mark Munoz, and Nate Marquardt, among others. The victory over Marquardt propelled Okami into a middleweight title fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 134, a bout that Okami lost via second-round TKO.

He later competed for World Series of Fighting, also unsuccessfully challenging for its middleweight title, before dropping down to welterweight. He went 1-2 in a second stint with the UFC, losing to Alexey Kunchenko by unanimous decision in his most recent bout this past December.

No date or opponent was announced for Okami’s ONE debut.