UFC OKs Quinton Jackson's request

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The UFC has granted Quinton Jackson's request to fight in Japan in February.

The former light heavyweight champion will meet Ryan Bader at UFC 144. UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed the matchup to ESPN.com.

The news comes days after Jackson claimed on his Twitter account that he would not be fighting on the card. In a tweet posted Tuesday, Jackson wrote, "It don't look like I'm fighting in Japan, which I'm not happy about at all."

Jackson (32-9), who fought in Pride Fighting Championships from 2001 to 2006, asked to be on the card immediately following a loss to Jon Jones in September. His hope had been to fight Mauricio Rua, but the Brazilian is unavailable after a taxing decision loss to Dan Henderson earlier this month.

Bader (13-2) will look to build off of a first-round knockout win over Jason Brilz at UFC 139. The collegiate wrestler suffered back-to-back losses earlier this year to Jones and Tito Ortiz but still is considered a bright prospect at 205.

The UFC 144 card will take place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, which seats approximately 20,000. It's the first UFC event scheduled for Japan since UFC 29 in December 2000.

Brett Okamoto covers MMA for ESPN.com.

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Brett Okamoto

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• MMA columnist for ESPN.com
• Analyst for "MMA Live"
• Covered MMA for Las Vegas Sun