Japanese MMA legend, Kazushi Sakuraba (26-15-1 MMA, 3-5 DREAM), has officially been booked to return against the undefeated Brazilian, Yan Cabral (9-0 MMA, 0-0 DREAM), in a welterweight bout at DREAM.17.

The event is set to take on place September 24th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It is not yet clear whether the card will be broadcasted in the U.S but it has been rumored that negotiations have taken place between DREAM and U.S. television partner HDNet for a possible broadcast.

Sakuraba will make his first appearance since New Year’s Eve’s DREAM “Dynamite!! 2010″ event. Sakuraba lost that fight to Marius Zaromskis because a portion of his ear was torn off. That loss marked his third straight defeat and his fifth loss in six fights. And things will not get any easier for Sakuraba in his upcoming fight. He will meet an undefeated Yan Cabral, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Brazil’s notorious Nova Uniao camp. Since turning pro in 2007 he’s posted an impressive 9-0 record and nine submission victories in Brazil and Europe. This will be his first fight since an April 2010 win over Djordje Beric (3-5) at a show in Switzerland. This fight will carry a heavy affect on both men’s careers. Sakuraba will be looking to get his career back on the right track and Cabral will be looking to place a legend’s name under his MMA belt. Will this be the second rising of an MMA legend or will it be the birth of a new star in the sport? We’ll find out on September 24th in Japan.

The DREAM.17 card now stands as follows:

Antonio Banuelos vs. Hideo Tokoro (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal)
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Takafumi Otuska (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Abel Cullum (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal)
Rodolfo Marques vs. Yusup Saadulaev (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal)
Yan Cabral vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Joachim Hansen vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Shinya Aoki vs. Rob McCullough
Willamy Freire vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Takeshi Inoue vs. Caol Uno
Gerald Harris vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

- Bu Jake Chastain