(Photo courtesy of Sports Navi)

UFC held a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday, March 10 to announce the broadcast of the upcoming "UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi" on Japanese network TV.

"UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi," scheduled for March 31 at Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, will air on tape delay in Japan on April 8th during the one-hour prime time slot from 22:00 to 22:54 JST. The fight card features the debut of former Pride FC Lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi; also slated for appearance are prominent Japanese fighters, Caol Uno and Yushin Okami.

UFC events currently air on Pay-Per-View on the satellite broadcasting and pay TV station, WOWOW, in Japan. At the presser, Zuffa counsel, Jaime Pollack, announced the partnership with TV Tokyo, the smallest of the free-to-air broadcast networks.

Zuffa's initial foray into Japanese broadcast network took place in 2005 during Pride FC's heyday; the collaboration with TV Tokyo was short-lived and fruitless. Five years later, Zuffa renews the pursuit of the once-impervious Japanese market as its oversea expansion kicks into high gear.

Pollack told the press that Japan is the most highly coveted market in Asia in light of Zuffa's plan to increase the brand recognition in the region. With "big names" like Gomi, Uno, and Okami, Zuffa hopes to make the upcoming fight card in North Carolina a catalyst for popularizing the UFC brand in Japan.

The TV Tokyo sports executive in attendance announced an ambitious (read: unrealistic) goal  for the station to attain a double-digit rating. To put the number in perspective, DREAM, Japan's premier MMA organization, recorded 16.2% average during prime time on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) for the very successful DREAM 9; other DREAM events during the primetime slot have recorded around 10% average.

Zuffa's partnership with TV Tokyo is a great news for MMA enthusiasts in Japan; however, given the scarce following UFC has in Japan,capturing new fans, particularly among the large legion of casual fans, remains a daunting task.

Props: UFC.com

Quoteworthy:

"The hottest ticket in New Jersey just got hotter, as it has been announced that Playboy cover model and UFC All-Access host Rachelle Leah will be returning to her old gig as Octagon Girl for one night only on Saturday, March 27th at UFC 111 in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center."

Mmmmmmmmmmmm .... Oh, and "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" has officially sold out. Coincidence? Nah ...

MMA fans the world over who are dying to catch the last of Hidehiko Yoshida live, take notice.

J-Rock, the sports and entertainment management company that will host Yoshida's upcoming retirement event, Astra, has joined forces with Tele Planning International to bring the event to MMA fans around the world through a new premium internet TV service.

Tele Planning International, an international advertising and sports marketing firm based in Japan, will tap Cavea, the "new virtual event arena on the internet," that will be launched on April 1st. The premium internet TV will broadcast Astra live from Nippon Budokan on April 25th.

J-Rock and Tele Planning are currently in the process of ironing out the details of the event production and live webcast; stay tuned to MMAmania for updates on this momentous collaboration as they become available.

The former judo Olympian and Japanese MMA icon, Hidehiko Yoshida, will grace the ring for his final bout at Astra. According to J-Rock, the list of his potential opponent has been whittled down to three - two foreign fighters and one Japanese fighter - and the bout confirmation is forthcoming.

Also featured on the card is the welterweight match between the current DEEP champion, Yuya Shirai and Che Mills, the two-time vanquisher of DREAM welterweight champion, Marius Zaromskis. The fast-rising Michihiro Omigawa will take on the American Top Team prospect, Micah Miller. Along with Omigawa, fellow Yoshida dojo members, Makoto Takimoto and Kazuhiro Nakamura, are also scheduled to fight on the card; rumors suggest that Nakamura may face the fellow Pride and UFC veteran, Denis Kang.