Japanese UFC Vets Issei Tamura and Riki Fukuda to Fight at Road FC 13

Two Japanese fighters recently released by the UFC have been snapped up by Korean promotion Road FC and will be fighting on Oct. 12 in Gumi, South Korea. Issei Tamura will be taking on Ming Jung Song in a bantamweight match-up, while middleweight Riki Fukuda will be facing an as yet unnamed opponent.

Tamura (7-4) was brought in as a late replacement to face Tiequan Zhang at UFC 144 and scored a surprise second-round knockout victory over the Chinese fighter. After the win, he dropped down to bantamweight, but was beaten by both Raphael Assuncao and TJ Dillashaw, prompting his release from the promotion.

Road FC snapped him up straight away. He will be taking on ONE FC veteran Song (5-6), who recently reached the final of the Road FC Bantamweight Grand Prix and has decision losses to the likes of Masakatsu Ueda, Andrew Leone and Kyung Ho Kang on his record.

Fukuda was released from the UFC roster under slightly different circumstances after testing positive for phenylpropanolamine, norpseudoephedrine and ephedrine after his decision loss to Brad Tavares at UFC on Fuel TV 8.

Fukuda (19-7) stated that an over-the-counter cough syrup was to blame for the failed drug test. He has a 2-3 record inside the Octagon and will be looking to establish himself as a contender for the Road FC middleweight belt currently held by Eun Soo Lee.

There will be a sizeable Japanese contingent on the card at Road FC 13, which is set for the JH Park Stadium in Gumi, with Makoto Kamaya (22-12-3) also taking on Korean Zombie MMA prodigy Yun Jun Lee (2-1) in a featherweight match-up.

As previously revealed on MMAWeekly.com, Road FC 13 will be headlined by a lightweight title rematch between Yui Chul Nam (16-4-1) and Takasuke Kume (15-2-4) and will also feature the semifinals of the Featherweight Grand Prix.