Nam Phan to Defend Pancrase Title Against ‘TUF 12’ Teammate Andy Main on Oct. 4

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Newly crowned featherweight King of Pancrase Nam Phan will put his belt on the line against Andy Main in the headlining bout of Pancrase 270.

The long-standing Japanese organization on Friday announced the matchup, set to take place Oct. 4 at Differ Ariake arena in Tokyo. The all-American bout will mark the first time two non-Japanese fighters have squared off for a Pancrase title since Ricardo Almeida took Nate Marquardt’s middleweight crown in November 2003.

Phan, 32, and Main, 26, are well acquainted, both having competed as part of Josh Koscheck’s squad on the 12th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Main has been promoted in Pancrase as part of “Team Nam Phan,” though he is based out of his own Pure MMA academy in New Jersey.

In February, Phan earned a three-round split decision to snatch the 145-pound title from former champ Takumi Nakayama. Since exiting the UFC on a losing streak last March, the Californian has won three fights in Japan but was battered in his lone Bellator MMA appearance, a 46-second stoppage at the hands of Mike Richman.

Main holds a 3-0-1 record in Pancrase and has finished his last two opponents, most recently scoring a 57-second submission of Hiroyuki Oshiro in March. In the five years since his time on “TUF,” Main has lost only one of his nine bouts, coming up on the short end of a split decision against Bellator vet Kenny Foster last June.