Quarterfinal Matchups Set for Rizin Grand Prix, Including Shane Carwin vs. Amir Aliakbari

Shane Carwin will face Amir Aliakbari in his first mixed martial arts bout since 2011 as part of Rizin’s open-weight grand prix.

The promotion announced the pairing on Tuesday. The other quarterfinal matchups are Mirko Filipovic vs. Wanderlei Silva; Kaido Hoovelson vs. Tsuyoshi Kosaka and Valentin Moldavsky vs. Szymon Bajor. Kosaka replaces Jiri Prochazka, who pulled out of the event due to a knee injury.

The quarterfinal round takes place at Rizin 3 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Dec. 29, with the semifinals and championship set for Dec. 31. The Filipovic-Silva winner will face the Hoovelson-Kosaka winner, while the Carwin-Aliakbari winner locks horns with the Moldavsky-Bajro winner.

Carwin, the former UFC interim heavyweight champion, recently ended a five-year retirement. He last appeared at UFC 131, where he lost a unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos. Aliakbari, 28, is 3-0 as a professional, including a first-round stoppage of Joao Isidoro Almedia at Rizin 2.