The Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan can eagerly anticipate a little “Thunder” and a little “Lightning” on the UFC on FUEL TV 8 card set for March 3.

Middleweight contenders Hector “Lightning” Lombard and Yushin “Thunder” Okami are set to meet at the free event, which takes place on March 3, but airs in the United States on March 2 due to the time difference.

UFC.com officially announced the match up late Monday evening.

Okami had the worst stretch of his career between Aug. 2011 and Feb. 2012, getting knocked out by both middleweight champion Anderson Silva and then-rising contender Tim Boetsch.

While getting knocked out by Silva is nothing to be ashamed of, the loss to Boetsch was particularly disappointing as Okami was completely dominant in rounds 1 and 2, only to get knocked out by a series of desperate uppercuts at the end of the fight.

However, Okami has since rebounded with back-to-back wins over Buddy Roberts and Alan Belcher, so a win over Lombard would likely once again stake his claim as a top five middleweight.

Meanwhile, Lombard, who entered the UFC on an incredible 25-fight unbeaten streak, lost a close, albeit lackluster, decision to Boetsch at UFC 149 in July.

However, the former Bellator middleweight champ looked like his old self against submission specialist Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FX 6 last month, scoring a vicious first round knockout.

A win over Okami would indefinitely put Lombard on a short list of contenders to Silva’s title at 185-pounds.

Will Okami's grapple-heavy approach be too much to overcome or will Lombard's relentless, heavy hands made it a short night for Okami?