Nate Marquardt Set For BAMMA 9 Debut Against Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Nate Marquardt is finally ready to make his welterweight debut. The former UFC contender has agreed to meet fellow Octagon veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida on February 11th at the main event of BAMMA 9. Verbal agreements have been tentatively set, according to reports by MMA Weekly.

Marquardt (31-10-2) was originally slated to make his 170-pound debut at June's UFC on Versus 4 card in a headlining bout against Rick Story. However the 32-year-old would be unexpectedly cut from the promotion a day before the event after failing his medicals. The unusual development kicked off a firestorm of discussion regarding the legality of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in mixed martial arts.

Following his UFC release, "The Great" was courted by several suitors but eventually elected to sign with British promotion BAMMA in late-July. He was immediately placed onto December 10th card of BAMMA 8 to fight for the BAMMA Welterweight Championship, but will now shift his gaze to early 2012 and BAMMA 9.

Meanwhile, Yoshida (13-6) heads into action in the midst of his best stretch in four years. Since being cut by the UFC following a 2010 loss to Mike Guymon, the 37-year-old judoka has ripped through consecutive victories including a TKO stoppage of Ferrid Kheder in July and a unanimous decision over Phil Baroni at ONE FC's inaugural show in September.

BAMMA 9 will be held in London, England. No venue has been chosen at this time.