By Joe Ferraro

After spending Thursday on location in Montreal, for a massive Gatorade shoot with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, and his stellar team of coaches and teammates, a myriad of discussion surrounding the world of MMA was headlined by this weekend’s UFC 127 card in Australia.

For one, the winner of the main event between 170 lbers Jon Fitch and BJ Penn has been assured a title shot; but against whom?

Should Jake Shields defeat GSP at UFC 129 in Toronto, then it would be he vs the winner of Fitch and Penn. But should Georges emerge victorious, I bring to you, once again, what I explained on this week’s episode of MMA Connected.

The consensus is that a victorious Captain Canada would then vacate his title and move up to 185 lbs to challenge middleweight champion Anderson Silva in what will likely be the sport’s biggest fight to date. But mark my words, there is no guarantee that fight will actually take place as well. But for argument’s sake, let’s say it does.

With the UFC’s welterweight division lacking a champion, one would hope the UFC would perhaps put together a four man, or eight man tournament, that would be played out over a few events, with the two winners on opposing brackets facing off to determine the new kingpin at 170 lbs. Ironically enough, as mentioned on this week’s broadcast of “The Showdown”, the UFC could place Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck on opposite side of the brackets, if, and only if, they sign on paper that they would agree to face off against one another, if they do end up meeting in the finals. But this is all fantasy, right now…

Heading into UFC 127, I had maintained Penn was going to win, that is, until I spoke with one of the sport’s best coaches during my stay in Las Vegas, while covering UFC 126.

We dissected the records, trends, caliber of opponents and tendencies of both fighters, and the conclusion was unanimous: on paper, Jon Fitch should defeat Penn. But then, I reached out to this coach yesterday, and much to my surprise, he adjusted his tune once again.
This time around, he pointed out two updated factors that we should analyze. The first is BJ Penn is a completely different fighters during a three round fight vs a five round fight. During the former, he comes out with a fury and doesn’t stop until he wins. During the ladder, he comes out fairly patient and paces himself accordingly. Chalk down one point for BJ Penn.

Or make that two.

One of the key strengths for Fitch in this bout was his size over Penn. I say “was”, because Jon has embraced a Vegan diet, that has apparently slimmed down the welterweight stud to a walk around weight that is a mere 6-8 lbs over the division cutoff. This drop in poundage has also sent red flags amongst his teammates and coaching staff. That one key attribute he had over BJ, may have literally, dissipated.

This has now swayed many who had originally picked Fitch, to now go with Penn. I maintain that Fitch should win, but it now becomes a much better fight. And should “The Prodigy” emerge victorious, many will be smiling ear to ear, as “the old BJ is back”. That is, unless the “real” old BJ is back.

While most may disagree, I would not be surprised if BJ uses the win to set up a trilogy bout he has been clamoring for since UFC 94. He wants to fight GSP bad, and I would not be surprised if he brings back the whole Grease Gate angle to bait TEAM GSP and the UFC into “settling the score”. Penn is a master at hyping up fights, because people will listen. Heck, even if he doesn’t believe it, he may do it just because he knows it will sell. And that’s genius.

To this day, people still refer to GSP as a “greaser”, and it’s all because of Penn’s allegations. Don’t be surprised if he runs with that angle.

As for the rest of the card, my predictions are below.

Main Card
Middleweight bout:  Michael Bisping over Jorge Rivera
Lightweight bout:  George Sotiropoulos over Dennis Siver

Welterweight bout:  Chris Lytle over  Brian Ebersole
Middleweight bout:  Kyle Noke over Chris Camozzi

Preliminary Card (Free on Rogers Sportsnet)
Middleweight bout:  Nick Ring over Riki Fukuda
Light Heavyweight bout:  Alexander Gustafsson over James Te-Huna
Lightweight bout:  Spencer Fisher over Ross Pearson

Preliminary Card ( free on Facebook )
Featherweight bout:  Jason Reinhardt over Zhang Tie Quan
Light Heavyweight bout:  Anthony Perosh over Tom Blackledge

Preliminary Card
Lightweight bout:  Maciej Jewtuszko over Curt Warburton
Heavyweight bout:  Chris Tuchscherer over Mark Hunt

February 10th, 2011 was a date, that many within the Mixed Martial Arts industry circled on their calendar, as it was penciled in for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s pre-sale event for the expected record breaking show at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

And it’s safe to say the record of 23,152, set by UFC 124 at The Bell Centre in Montreal, last December, has been smashed.

In speaking with the organization, initial ticket sales through “Fight Club” members have pushed the original prediction of 42,000 seats, to a grander number in the mid forty thousands.

While many, including yours truly, would like to see them push towards fifty thousand or more, the safer, and final number may be in and around forty five thousand.

An incredible display of success, no matter how one measures it, considering the sport of MMA has yet to see an official bout take place on Ontario soil.

While the organization has released more seats, they caution that there may be only singles left, a limited amount only, as the configuration set up for the mega event may force them to cap the final total.

With the next step of pre-sale occurring on Friday, followed by the open public sale on Saturday, trending appears to point to one headline on Sunday morning:

“UFC 129: St-Pierre vs Shields SOLD OUT”.

By Joe Ferraro

A source has informed me that welterweight contender Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit is on the verge of withdrawing from is UFC 127 bout vs Chris Lytle.

Condit (26-5) has apparently suffered a knee injury and it looks as if it’s severity will hamper his performance in the bout. While many fighters often compete at less than 100%, this situation has Condit at a massive disadvantage.

“The Natural Born Killer” is coming off a first round knockout performance vs Dan Hardy at UFC 120, and was hoping to continue his trek up the welterweight rankings vs Lytle, who is riding a four fight winning streak, the last, vs former welterweight champion Matt Serra, at UFC 119.

UFC 127: Penn vs Fitch will take place on Saturday, February 26th, 2011, at the ACER Arena in Sydney, Australia. The main event features BJ Penn vs Jon Fitch, while the co-main will see Michael Bisping take on Jorge Rivera.

By Joe Ferraro

The results from UFC 126, specifically victories by middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight phenom Jon Jones, have sent the MMA world into a tailspin.

“The Spider’s” high light reel kick knockout of Vitor Belfort has solidified one half of the super fight with welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, while Jones was awarded a title shot vs 205 lbs kingpin Mauricio Rua, a bout that he has opened up as a favourite with the odds makers.

To both of these points, I say “hold on” and let’s not jump the gun here.

Many fans and media alike appear to be discounting GSP’s next opponent, Jake Shields, a more than capable welterweight who can shock the world should he be able to put Georges on his back. While some are taking him lightly, the champ is not. In fact, he knows full well the ramifications that come with under estimating an opponent.

Shields will be training with the likes of not only Nick and Nate Diaz, but studs like Gilbert Melendez, Ben Askren and Chael Sonnen. He will be ready to nullify St-Pierre’s boxing, muay thai, wrestling and submissions game. May I suggest you do not base your analysis on Jake’s last bout vs Martin Kampmann, but instead, take a look at his full body of work.

Its far too easy to assume, that because on paper, GSP should out class his American opponent, that in reality, this is what will happen. I am the first to say that yes, St-Pierre will find a way to beat Shields, but it will not be easy.

In fact, many of my American peers in the media are adamant, that Shields will “expose” Captain Canada, with the majority proudly proclaiming that Shields will submit him within three rounds.

While I disagree, any talk of GSP vs Silva later this year, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto or Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas, should give way, at least, until the UFC 129 post-fight press conference.

As for Bones Jones opening up as a favourite vs Shogun – really? I am slightly surprised with the bookies.

During our live UFC 83: St-Pierre vs Serra II pre-fight show, I introduce Jones as the future of the 205 lbs weight class, and have always maintained he would be a champion one day.

In fact, when Shogun defeated Lyoto Machida for the title last year, I stated the only man who will defeat him would in fact be Jon Jones – but I stated sometime in 2012.

The two are no slated to square off in the main event at UFC 128, Saturday, March 19th, in Newark, New Jersey. I like the fight, but I wonder aloud if its simply too early in Jones’ career?

Shogun’s resume speaks for itself, while the challenger’s past opponents pale in comparison to those who the Brazilian has decimated.

While the list includes names like Ryan Bader, Brandon Vera and Stephan Bonnar, “Bones” has yet to face the caliber of opponents Rua has defeated, which includes Machida (twice really), Quinton Rampage Jackson and many more.

I would much rather have seen him continue to work his way up the light heavyweight ladder, and defeat the likes of Machida, Rampage, Thiago Silva, or Forrest Griffin, to solidify his title shot, but the aforementioned all tied up with upcoming bouts and Griffin very sore after Saturday’s fight with Rich Franklin, its easy to understand why the UFC’s hand was forced to make this match up.

Can the youngster defeat the champ? Absolutely he can, but should he be a favourite, even with Shoguns layoff from action? I tend to lean towards “no.”

But, in the mythical world of MMA’s “what if’s”, Jones will be the champ in March, GSP vs Silva will happen in Dallas, and I’ll look back at this article and say I was wrong.

Or will I?

By Joe Ferraro

The build up during fight week is often a steady progression of excitement and curiosity, that builds exponentially on a daily basis, until it all reaches it’s apex on fight night; but for some reason in Las Vegas, there is a sense of tension in the air as we move closer to UFC 126: Silva vs Belfort.

It is undeniable that Saturday’s main event between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former friend and fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort is personal for the champ; one could see his treatment of the challenger during the staredowns at the pre-fight press conference.

While it’s not a rarity for “The Spider” to exude some emotional distain for his opposition, it seems different this time around; somethings not right.

Both of these stellar athletes are under an immense amount of pressure from their homeland, which was visible by the massive amount of Brazilian media in attendance at this show. There are so many, that the bodies in the UFC’s media centre on Thursday night was reminiscent of UFC 100. But for my peers south of the equator, they are dubbing this “the fight of the century”.

Silva knows this. He cannot hide from this, and has been playing it off as just another fight. But Belfort understands the ramifications of emerging victorious in this tilt, between two of the sport’s elite strikers. It’s a must win, and one he plans on securing via exposure. A left cross will likely be the weapon of choice, and one which will make the many landed by Chael Sonnen on Silva’s chin at UFC 117, seem like feathers.

While he has stated on numerous occasions that he will show up on Saturday night to fight, and not dance like some of Silva’s previous opponents, he is not afraid to throw verbal strikes towards the champ; something many from his homeland have considered taboo since “The Spider’s” title defence vs Demian Maia at UFC 112. In this bout, Silva put on one of the most bizarre performances to have ever been seen inside of the octagon, sprinkled with insults towards Maia, physical exchanges designed to embarrass him, while drawing the ire of the UFC fan base and President, Dana White.

During the UFC 126 pre-fight press conference, Silva was in one of his moods, where one word answers and brief remarks were all the media were going to get. Some labelled him as a prima donna, while Belfort believes he sees right through this facade. “(Anderson Silva) is wearing a mask and is showing a person that he is not. It’s probably due to insecurity” stated the challenger.

Belfort, who is as cool and calm as one can possibly be, before one of the biggest fights in his career, is at peace with his life. A variety of challenges and changes outside of the competition platform sees a calamity and stillness in the middleweight, akin to that of heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko. He hinted at some life changing experiences and an evolution that has seen him progress far way from the label he once had as “mentally weak”.

To many, “The Phenom” was chastised for often being unable to handle the pressures of being a world class athlete, a label he does not seem to refute. But often times it’s not so much as just accepting criticism, it’s more about fighting through the denial and embarking on a course of action to correct it.

And Vitor has done just that. “I’m really prepared, and I don’t have any pressure. When I became champion at 19, I carried a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but now, I’m having fun. If I bleed, I’ll fix it after. If I break, I’ll fix it after. I’m here to entertain.”

To wit, Silva addressed the issue by informing the challenger (and the media) of the laundry list of opponents that have come and gone throughout “The Spider’s” current reign, all of which have not only been destroyed, but many of which have never been the same. He also fired his own warning towards Belfort, making it crystal clear that talk is cheap and “On Saturday night, there will be nowhere to run.”

As today’s weigh-ins approach, one can just imagine what we can expect when the two fighters square off. The pressure is building. The tension is rising, and according to Dana White, “nobody wants to be the loser in this fight, and have to fly home back to Brazil”.

If that’s not motivation enough to perform, and proof enough that we are in for the Brazilian “Fight of The Decade”, then I do not know what is.

By Joe Ferraro

With UFC “Fight for the Troops 2″ now behind us, and Strikeforce: Diaz vs Cyborg on the horizon, it’s going to be another busy week in the world of MMA. With that being said, let’s take a look at what’s happening in the world of MMA today.

First and foremost, a big “thank you” to all of our Canadian viewership who donated to the “Hero Fund”. It’s a wonderful cause that aids our military personnel and their families. And it’s never too late to donate; just visit the site and please give what you can.

During the broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet, we saw a variety of bouts that I analyzed during this week’s episode of MMA Connected. First and foremost was Mark Hominick’s victory over George Roop, solidifying his title shot vs UFC Featherweight champion, Jose “Junior” Aldo.

There are not many fans and analysts that are giving the Canadian much of a chance against the Brazilian, but with his striking speed and precision, coupled with the Brazilian’s tendency in his last three fights to start off slow, there could be an opening for “The Machine” to hurt “Junior” en route to shocking the world. The two will square off as part of the co-main event for UFC 129, Saturday, April 30th, at The Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The other Canadian on the card, Edmonton’s Tim Hague, did not fare as well. It seemed as if one of Matt Mitrione’s punches landed so flush, that it looked as if a knockout would have been better than to remain awake, and have to continue fighting, with his senses playing tricks on him. I’ve seen this on many occasions, with many fighters telling me all the time; they’d rather have been ko’d than try and defend knowing full well they simply cannot do so at 100%.

Mitrione continues to impress, and while he’s still a fight or two away from competing with the elite in the division, I am impressed with his development and systematic ascension up the UFC’s heavyweight food chain.

The main event between Evan Dunham and Melvin Guillard did not surprise me at all. In late 2003 / early 2004, I had a subscription to a product called “Bad Breed Tv”, a dvd magazine that showcased a variety of grass roots MMA content. On one volume was this young fighter named Melvin Guillard, who was destroying his opposition with ease. Many of us in the pre-Ultimate Fighter era firmly believed that this guy was the future at lightweight.

It’s taken awhile, and after a few ups and downs, it almost appears as if “The Young Assassin” is on the cusp of  finally realizing his potential. As I mentioned on this week’s show, now that he’s taken out top ten contender in Dunham, a step up in competition is required. Seeing as Dunham was supposed to originally take on Kenny Florian this past Saturday night, I stated that Guillard should face “KenFlo” in his next fight. Low and behold, Kenny has piped up stating “If Melvin thinks he deserves a shot over me, he should fight me and beat me…Who has he beaten? What has he done?”

As for the rest of the card, I was a little surprised that Pat Barry was unable to finish off Joey Beltran, but it’s likely because “The Mexicutioner”, as “HD” stated, is a zombie that will just not go away. Cole Miller vs Matt Wiman was a stellar bout and yes, I was surprised that Wiman could dominate Miller so easily. I predicted the complete opposite in this bout, but such is MMA. And what was with “Magrinho” looking into the camera after the fight, picking his nose and flicking it towards the lens? Really?

Cody MacKenzie’s development is doing well, but Yves Edwards is a wily veteran who was just too much for him. The most bizarre portion of the events results was former WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown’s loss to Rani Yahya. It’s his fourth defeat in a row – we may have seen the last of him in the UFC for quite some time. Oh, how the might have fallen.

Misc MMA News

I highly recommend watching this video of Roy Nelson predicting disaster during the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. He’s predicting that coach Brock Lesnar will bolt the show midway, Frank Mir or Shane Carwin will step in, and much more.

The UFC recently partnered with TV Bank Corporation in Japan, who will now become their content partner across various digital mediums. It is also a step in the right direction for the organization to eventually holding events in the Land of the Rising Sun. It’s still a long way from happening, as the climate and culture in Japan is far different than it is in North America. MMA fans, cross your fingers, as the sport needs a serious revival in the orient, before it fades away into obscurity.

With Herschel Walker stepping into the cage on Saturday night, the pundits are once again criticizing Strikeforce for what many are considering a “freak show”. I can sympathize with their assessments, but Walker does have the right to fight if he wants to. It just so happens that it’s with Strikeforce, who has the eyes and ears of many. He could compete for a grass roots organization, but really, why should he? He’s being given the option to compete for one of the biggest organizations in the sport – is that his fault?

And Strikeforce, as a promoter, will do what needs to get done to draw attention to their show. There is nothing wrong with that. Most who are offended by the Walker addition have them believing that Strikeforce is trying to fool everyone into thinking he will be the HW champion one day. They aren’t. No one seriously believes that. To lose sleep over this is worthless. So he takes away from an up and comer in the division – well tell that up and comer to start doing some more media and drawing the attention of the main stream networks. If he does, then Walker will no longer be taking his spot.

And are you following Jon “Bones” Jones on twitter? Every so often he posts a gem, be it an inspirational quote, or flat out calling someone out. First it was Thiago Silva, for his bongo playing on Brandon Vera, now it’s Aaron Simpson, who has ticked of Bones. This could get ugly.

Finally, while it’s not until September, I already know what I want for my birthday; it’s Big John McCarthy’s new book entitled “Let’s get it on! The Making of MMA and its Ultimate Referee!”, coincidentally enough, being released in September 2011.

By Joe Ferraro

In his most recent video blog, UFC President took the first step to stating the long anticipated super fight between welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva is just around the corner.

At 1:52 of the video, White discusses the potential pound for pound showdown:

“After Anderson Silva wins that fight on the 5th and then Georges St. Pierre needs to beat Jake Shields in Toronto; if that happens then we’re probably going to do that fight. Alright? So if they both win then that fight makes all the sense in the world. And Georges St.Pierre said he’d move up to 185 and stay there.”

By Joe Ferraro
While the MMA world awaits for what many of us believe is an inevitable super fight between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, the two top pound for pound fighters are currently booked for bouts within their own division. But that hasn’t stopped others from calling them out, or in the case of “The Spider”, naming a fighter he would like to face who many believe, is quite frankly, a pay cheque.

While Silva has his work cut out for him at UFC 126, when he puts his title on the line vs Vitor Belfort, that hasn’t stopped him from throwing out Michael Bisping’s name, and how he would be more than happy to fight “The Count’”, on his home soil of England.

As it stands today, there is a current calibre gap between the two fighters and on paper, Silva should easily dominate the English poster child for MMA. While no fight is an easy fight, as it stands today, Bisping still has some flaws in his game that he will need to correct before he can tangle with his Brazilian counterpart. He is, and would be considered a huge underdog in this fight, but then again, so was Chael Sonnen, when he fought Silva last August.

I’d like to see “The Count” dispose of a few more opponents above him in the rankings before I am convinced he can take out the champ. With a sound strategy (famous last words) he could ground and pound Silva and earn a victory, but first, he would have to get passed Anderson’s exceptional muay thai, his ever dangerous clinch and then his underrated submission arsenal. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but the odds are stacked against Michael right now. Mind you, if can pull off the victory, and contrary to all his haters out there, championship glory could not happen to a nicer guy.

It’s not uncommon for many fighters to specifically ask for opponents, who on paper, or inferior to them. Take nothing away from Randy Couture, a master strategist, but when current UFC Light Heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua states how he would love the opportunity to fight “The Natural”, to me, reading between the lines, it says as if he is saying, “pay cheque”.

When this sort of stuff occurs, I can understand why so many people root for the underdog. You just want to see that magical moment when a guy has “no shot” at winning the fight, prove everyone wrong, and pull of the unimaginable.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, is the bravado showcased by Brian Stann, who recently stated that if he was to fight GSP at middleweight, he “would knock him out, before he puts me on my butt three times.” This, after also stating that he has “trained with GSP” in the past. It’s a fight that likely may never take place, as should GSP move up to 185 lbs, he’d likely be given an immediate title shot, or at the very least, take on one of the middleweight division’s elite, top contenders.

Moving on to Strikeforce, the organization has launched an official website for their upcoming Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament, which features a stellar line up of some of the sport’s best big men.

One of them is Fedor Emelianenko, whose management M-1 Global, is hoping to convince the athletic commissions who will be sanctioning the bouts to “perform strict drug testing”, as two of fighters competing have been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. The first is Josh Barnett, who left them with a sour taste in their mouth, when he tested positive prior to getting licensing for the now infamous Affliction event, that eventually folded shortly thereafter.

The other is Fedor’s next opponent, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, who was suspended for one year by the California State Athletic Commission after allegedly testing positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid.

Whether you agree or disagree with some of M-1 Global’s past practices, they should be commended for making such a request, one I sincerely hope will be adopted by the commissions.

Sliding over to Japan, one time top draw Bob “The Beast’ Sapp has apparently had enough of FEG and their business practises. After current boss Sadaharu Tanikawa told a Japanese publication that the company’s demise is imminent, Sapp poured some gasoline over the fire when he piped up as to why he did not compete on their recent NYE show.

He stated that once he arrived in Japan, he was asked to take a 50% pay cut to compete. He originally agreed to compete for $30K, was asked to fight for $15K, so he counter offered for $25K; no deal. His bout was pulled from the card with the organization taking shots at him during the on-air broadcast, questioning his fighter spirit and that he was asking for more money to fight.

He subsequently went on to state that the promotion is taking up to six months to pay some of the fighters, stiffing others and that the company is broke; it’s just a matter of time before they are done.

And finally, one story I will be paying close attention to, is the feud between Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, and Chute Boxe’s Cristiano Marcello.

The two lightweights have been feuding since December 31st, 2005, where at Pride Shockwave 2005, they got into a backstage tilt, which ended up with Marcello choking Bennett out unconscious with a triangle choke. Bennett has recently irked Marcello and the Chute Boxe team again, when he stated he once  knocked out Wanderlei Silva backstage, to which Marcello responded with a special video message, where he reminded Bennett that the only time he knocked out Silva, was when he was dreaming during his brief, triangle choke induced nap.

Dear MMA promoters – please make this fight happen for real!!

By Joe Ferraro

So much for Kimbo Slice returning to MMA, or even commencing on a rumoured boxing career. It appears one of my favourite interview subject’s next gig will be part of a different platform – Japanese Pro Wrestling. Very unfortunate as I will never stop believing he could have been more than what he was in MMA. I wish him well, but deep down inside I wish he would have never left the watchful eye of Bas Rutten, and still, stayed under the tutelage of those at American Top Team. Something doesn’t seem right in this scenario.

My colleague Dustin Green recently caught up with UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin, who spoke at length about his health, surgery, the upcoming bout between Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos as well as hopefully getting the chance to train with Fedor Emelianenko.

MMA Payout has another great piece about the UFC’s legalization efforts in New York, and how they can modify some of their key points to perhaps, increase their chances of succeeding. Paramount to the already established argument of the sports economic impact would be to also increase the education portion, so as to teach the media about “what is MMA?”

Remember when Paul Daley sucker punched Josh Koscheck after their fight in Montreal? According to legal expert David Nelmark, “Semtex” was lucky he never got charged for assault, which to the extreme, could have landed him some jail time.

Concentrating on the sport’s safety record as well as what combat sports encompass the all round fighting that is MMA, would likely turn over some of the media who are sitting on the fence, which in turn, would help spread the word with the voting public and the decision making legislature. For those that remember the old WCC events from 1995 (I’m staring at a VHS copy right now), they did just that, showcasing the various “arts” in Mixed Martial Arts. A boxer boxing, a Judoka throwing, a BJJ player submitting his partner. While that helped some of the fan base 16 years ago, this visual aid can still work, nearly two decades later.

And for those keeping track of the ongoing court battles between Zuffa and Bellator, looks like the UFC is winning.

By Joe Ferraro

It didn’t take long for the UFC to find a replacement for James Wilks.

A source has informed me that “Lighting” has been replaced by Nate Diaz, who will now face off against “The Waterboy”, Rory MacDonald.

Diaz (13-6) is coming off a disappointing loss to Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125, where “The Stun Gun” earned a unanimous judges decision over the Stockton, California native.

He will provide a stern test for MacDonald (10-1), who will be returning to the octagon for the first time since his first loss of his professional career, a TKO loss to Carlos Condit suffered at UFC 115 in June of 2010.