Jon Fitch and Yushin Okami are both on the back end of their respective careers. However, there are still opportunities to achieve big things with whatever time is left, and that starts at WSOF 24.

Fitch (26-7-1) and Okami (30-9) meet in Saturday’s welterweight headliner at Foxwoods Casino Resort in Mashantucket, Conn. The main card airs on NBCSN following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Although both fighters enter the contest off losses, the stakes are high because the winner will be inserted into a future matchup against Jake Shields for the vacant WSOF welterweight championship.

Holding a title in a reputable promotion such as WSOF is an achievement that’s escaped Fitch and Okami during their careers. They each had the opportunity to challenge for UFC belts during their time with the organization, but came up short against two of the greatest fighters ever in Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.

With Fitch and Okami still competing at a high level, but delivering inconsistent results, in their mid-30s, there may not be many more opportunities to earn a big win that will set up a championship fight. That’s why WSOF Vice President Ali Abdelaziz believes the upcoming bout will go down as one of the defining moments in the career of both athletes.

“Somebody is going to go home without the opportunity to fight for a belt or win a belt; it’s legacy on the line,” Abdelaziz told MMAjunkie. “Many guys have fought, but when you don’t win a belt people don’t remember you as much. When you win a belt, your name is always going to come into the conversation. Your name in history will be placed. These guys always have a place in history. They have a place, but at what level? Will it be at a world championship level, or just another fighter?”

Fitch and Okami have achieved plenty during their lengthy tenures as professional fighters. They’ve competed against the best talent the sport has to offer across various promotions and have come out on the winning end more times than not.

The majority of Fitch and Okami’s UFC careers were spent chasing world titles, but when the chance arrived, they were unable to make good.

The opportunity to fight Shields, a former champion for Strikeforce and EliteXC, for WSOF gold, could exhaust some of those title fight demons. For that reason, Abdelaziz believes the WSOF 24 main event is as important as any fight Fitch or Okami have ever participated in.

“If I’m Yushin Okami or Jon Fitch, this is a very important fight for their legacy,” Abdelaziz said. “Both of these guys fought for the UFC belt and they both come up short. They never win a belt in another major promotion. Jake Shields did. Shields was a Strikeforce champion, and EliteXC champion.

“This is the biggest opportunity of their life to make sure that when they retire, they can say, ‘I was a world champion.’ I think it’s very important fight for both of them to solidify their legacy, solidify their career and go ahead and retire and say, ‘I was a world champion.’ It’s very critical.”

For more on WSOF 24, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.