Granted Sengoku Release, ‘Pee Wee’ Herman Signs with UFC

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Dave “Pee Wee” Herman has been released from his contract with Japanese promotion Sengoku and has reportedly signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Herman’s manager, Shu Hirata, confirmed the heavyweight’s release from Sengoku with MMAFighting.com early Tuesday. MMAWeekly.com now reports that Herman’s Octagon debut is already lined up, and that the Indiana native will face Brit Rob Broughton as part of UFC 131 June 11 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Sporting an impressive record of 20-2, with 19 wins by way of knockout or submission, Herman has long been considered one of the most desirable heavyweight free agents in MMA. Along with Sengoku, the 26-year-old is a veteran of EliteXC and Bellator Fighting Championships. Herman was locked in a contract dispute with the latter promotion for the better part of 2010, but finally returned to the Bellator cage in September with a first-round omoplata submission of Poland’s Michal Kita.

Herman was last seen competing at Sengoku’s Dec. 30 “Soul of Fight” event, where he took a unanimous decision over Pride veteran Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder’s professional ledger includes victories over the likes of Don Frye, Ron Waterman, and “Big” Jim York.

Broughton, a former Cage Rage British heavyweight champion, made a successful UFC debut at UFC 120 in October. Despite falling behind early, “The Bear” came back to score a third-round rear-naked choke submission against Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz, who later allegedly tested positive for banned substances. Prior to entering the UFC, the Liverpudlian notched wins against Britain’s biggest names at heavyweight, including Neil Grove, Neil Wain and James Thompson, twice.

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