Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures) will finally get his wish when he steps onto the big stage, in the big cage.

This Saturday, the former Japanese national judo team member will make his stateside debut when he takes on "The Ultimate Fighter 6" alumni Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver on the undercard of the UFC's star-laden bill at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. More importantly, he may be bringing a set of tools more equipped for the cage than other Japanese competitors before him.

Although a bit older than your average prospect, the 34-year-old Yoshida had a breakout year in 2007. Initially considered an also-ran in Greatest Common Multiple's Cage Force welterweight tournament, Yoshida immediately grabbed attention when he crushed then welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue (Pictures) in hockey-fighting fashion in under two minutes. However, Yoshida really opened the eyes of onlookers in September, when he ran roughshod over prohibitive tournament favorite and former Shooto world champion Akira Kikuchi (Pictures), halting Kikuchi in the first round with a vicious salvo of elbows in a massive upset.

Although Yoshida captured the tournament in less-than-stellar fashion, winning in the finals over Dan Hardy (Pictures) via an unceremonious disqualification due to an errant kick to the groin, Yoshida's hype was still teeming. As a result, many fans in-the-know were considerably excited when news broke of Yoshida signing a four-fight deal with the UFC this past January.

While Yoshida's eight-fight win streak and the names contained in it are validating enough, much of the interest surrounding his UFC debut comes from his cage savvy. Many international fighters, especially Japanese fighters, have struggled to grasp the nuances of the unified rules find success in the cage when making the jump into the Octagon. However, Yoshida may be the greatest success story of GCM's Cage Force initiative, which seeks to prepare and ready international fighters for the rigors of the cage. "Zenko" has shown the ability to adapt his grappling skills to the cage, dominating in the clinch, and utilizing devastating elbows in a fashion unusual from Japanese fighters with little experience in the cage.

What is more, Yoshida has perfected his cage-friendly tactics without actually training in a cage. Splitting his time between Yoshida Dojo alongside Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures), Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures), Ryo Chonan (Pictures), and Tokyo Yellow Mans under the tutelage of Shooto legend Noboru Asahi, Yoshida is forced to use only the matted walls to replicate the cage.

Koppenhaver last saw action in December, when he came from behind to best fellow TUF 6 alum Jared Rollins (Pictures) in their action-packed bloodbath. More recently, Koppenhaver has been embattled with legal troubles. "War Machine" was sentenced to 30 days of community service and three years probation following an incident in which he choked and punched a man outside his gym in December, after having his felony assault charges reduced to a misdemeanor.

The aforementioned Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) will also be in action on the undercard of Saturday's Sherk-Penn showdown, taking on Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures) in a seemingly must-win light heavyweight contest.

Nakamura, 29, had a rough go of things in his UFC debut last September. The star pupil of Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures) was beaten soundly for fifteen minutes by Lyoto Machida (Pictures) en route to a unanimous decision loss. To add insult to injury, Nakamura was suspended for three months by the California Athletic Commission after testing positive for marijuana following the bout.

The 24-year-old Sokoudjou burst into the MMA consciousness on the strength of his upsets over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) and Ricardo Arona (Pictures) in Pride's final days. However, "The African Assassin" was brought back to reality in December where he, like Nakamura, was blown out by Machida, losing via second-round submission at UFC 79.

ISC Nominates Yamaguchi for Kojima's July Title Clash

Things have gotten a bit more interesting for Shinichi "BJ" Kojima's second title defense.

Sherdog.com first reported last week that Sustain's July 18 Shooto Tradition 2 card would feature Kojima defending his Shooto world 123-pound championship against a yet-to-be-named challenger. Now, Shooto officials have shed more light on the July 123-pound title clash.

International Shooto Commission secretary Toshiharu Suzuki confirmed to Sherdog.com that the two fighters in the running for the July 18 title contendership were Yasuhiro Urushitani (Pictures) and Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures). Although it seemed over the past few months that Kojima's second title defense would inevitably be against Urushitani, the Wajyutsu product actually sits behind Yamaguchi in the Shooto world rankings because of the afroed ace's two strong wins over up-and-comers Yuki Shoujou (Pictures) and Masaaki Sugawara (Pictures) earlier this year, while Urushitani is coming off of a draw against Ryuichi Miki (Pictures) on May 3.

Suzuki revealed to Sherdog.com that leading Shooto promoter Sustain had originally hoped to stage a third clash between Kojima and Urushitani for the title after their highly controversial March 2007 split draw, which the vast majority of fans and pundits alike felt Urushitani won. However, since Urushitani didn't defeat Miki earlier this month, the ISC have officially nominated Yamaguchi as the candidate to challenge for the title on July 18.

"Our first ranked fighter is Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures)," said Suzuki. "Therefore, I nominated [him]. BJ Kojima's opponent will [probably be] Yamaguchi."

Yamaguchi and Kojima also have a history. The two first met in March 2006, where the then-champion Yamaguchi retained his title via majority draw. The two met the following October, where Kojima wrested the title from Yamaguchi, shockingly choking out the longtime champion in 98 seconds.

The July 18 bout will be Kojima's first fight in the 123-pound division in nearly a year. In his last two bouts, he has attempted to campaign at 132 pounds, which saw him lose in dismal fashion to Brazilian youngster Eduardo "Dudu" Dantas and So Tazawa (Pictures).