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[Sakara=Excitement]

Hidehiko Yoshida draws teammate Kazuhiro Nakamura in April 25 retirement fight | MMAjunkie.com

Hidehiko Yoshida has an opponent for his retirement fight, but the choice may come as a surprise.

The former Japanese Olympic gold medalist meets teammate and UFC/PRIDE veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura at the April 25 ASTRA event at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, event officials today announced.

Other bouts confirmed for the card include Ryo Chonan (17-10) vs. Jung Hwan Cha (6-5-1) and Bellator/Strikeforce vet Jorge Masvidal (19-5) vs. Naoyuki Kotani (20-9-7).

Yoshida and Nakamura are both affiliated with the Yoshida Dojo, which has a big hand in the first-ever ASTRA event (along with the J-Rock entertainment company). The event, which is expected to air via online pay-per-view, also features Enson Inoue's first bout since 2004 when he takes on New Zealand kickboxer Antz Nansen.

Yoshida, who earned his gold medal in judo during the 1992 Summer Games, garnered a large fan following through the early 2000s. His 9-7-1 record is an indication of the quality of opposition he faced during his runs through PRIDE and World Victory Road's Sengoku events series. He's fought everyone from Wanderlei Silva (twice) to Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic to Josh Barnett while picking up victories over the likes of Don Frye, Mark Hunt, David "Tank" Abbott and Maurice Smith.

Most recently, though, he appeared at the co-promoted DREAM/WVR "Dynamite!! 2009" event and topped 2008 Olympic judo gold medalist and MMA newcomer Satoshi Ishii via unanimous decision.

He now meets Nakamura (13-10), a teammate who had an unsuccessful two-fight stint in the UFC following a memorable run with PRIDE. He's recently competed in the Sengoku event series but recently suffered stoppages losses to Jorge Santiago and Kazuo Misaki.

The latest ASTRA card now includes:

•Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
•Enson Inoue vs. Antz Nansen
•Che Mills vs. Yuya Shirai
•Jung Hwan Cha vs. Ryo Chonan
•Naoyuki Kotani vs. Jorge Masvidal
•Tentsuku Ganjou vs. Daisuke Nakamura
•Micah Miller vs. Michihiro Omigawa
•Akihiko Mouri vs. Tatsunao Nagakura

Happy to see Micah Miller on the card. I'm a fan of his.

[Pasha K]

About 5 years ago this would have been a very good match actually. Kazuhiro was a good fighter in pride.

[beau420]

Glad to see Che Mills too....the man who beat Zaromski twice.

Yeah, Micah vs Michihiro Omigawa, should be tough for Miller.

[TheKidInside]

Originally Posted by beau420

Glad to see Che Mills too....the man who beat Zaromski twice.

Yeah, Micah vs Michihiro Omigawa, should be tough for Miller.

I am so excited to see Micah! I love him and his brother Cole. those guys are crafty as fuck, especially Cole over Dan Lauzon?! WHAT?!?! that was a bad night for the Lauzon brothers lol..

Che Mills is no joke either, his wins over Zaromskis were awesome fights!