Wanderlei Silva to Partner with Kiyoshi Tamura for Rizin Tag Match Against Sakuraba, Tokoro

Former Pride FC champion Wanderlei Silva will join forces with Japanese MMA pioneer and onetime opponent Kiyoshi Tamura for a tag-team grappling match at this month’s Rizin Fighting Federation event.

Rizin officials last week announced that Silva and Tamura will go up against Kazushi Sakuraba and Hideo Tokoro in the submission-only match. Exact rules for the contest have not been revealed.

The grappling match will headline Rizin 1, the organization’s first official event following its pair of New Year’s Eve cards. The event takes place April 17 at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan, and will also feature the likes of Daron Cruickshank, Hisaki Kato and Gabi Garcia.

Tamura has not set foot in the ring since 2008, when the catch-wrestling specialist ended his MMA career with a unanimous decision win against Sakuraba. The 46-year-old vet also owns a submission victory over Tokoro, as well as a knockout loss to Silva in a 2002 Pride contest.