Two-additional bouts added to "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields"; 12 bouts total so far

Beginning as a welterweight earlier in his career, it’s incredible to see Ivan Menjivar eventually pair down to the bantamweight division at 135-pounds.

My earliest memory of the Canadian was when he battled Georges St. Pierre in the champion’s professional debut years ago in a 170-pound affair, actually coming in a pound over the required weight limit.

And now, he just fought one of the toughest, grittiest fights of his career when he was paired up against a five-foot-six-inch Brit named Brad Pickett. Though he lost in the “Fight of the Night” contender bout at the WEC’s final show last December, he was still picked up by the Zuffa organization and will be making his reentry into the UFC following a near seven-year absence.

Menjivar is scheduled to face perennial bantamweight contender Charlie Valencia in front of a hometown crowd at UFC 129, which is scheduled to take place at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada on April 30.

Ironically enough, upon Ivan’s return to the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion, former opponent GSP will be defending his welterweight title against former Strikeforce titleholder Jake Shields.

Valencia meanwhile is also coming off of a loss of his own, when in his last appearance with the WEC, before it was assimilated with it’s sister promotion last year, he was submitted by former champion Miguel Torres last September. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Valencia and any immediate chances to challenge for the bantamweight crown.

In addition to Menjivar-Valencia, another bout has been added to the pay-per-view event as lightweights Kyle Watson and Makdessi will meet inside the octagon.

“The Ultimate Fighter” season 12 semi-finalist Kyle Watson is fresh off of a successful debut under the Zuffa banner when he defeated fellow castmate Sako Chivitchian by unanimous decision. The win helped extend a five-fight win streak for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt.

Makdessi, like Watson, is also coming off of a successful debut in the worlds leading MMA promotion when he defeated the freakishly big lightweight fighter Pat Audinwood in his organizational inception at UFC 124 last December. He took home a well deserved decision win over “Awesomely Awesome”, however the fans robbed Makdessi of what seemed to be a lock for “Fight of the Night” when the head-honchos of the UFC granted the fans the right to text in and vote during the event for their opinion. Ultimately, fellow Canadian GSP and Josh Koscheck took home the honors.

Both additional bouts were reported my MMAJunkie.com with sources close to the negotiation’s.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the new matches? With the addition of the two, UFC 129 stands now at twelve bouts, though several have yet to be officially announced by the promotion as of yet. Sound off in the comment section below.