» Fighter: Dean Lister

Former UFC and PRIDE fighter and Abu Dhabi world submission grappling champion “Boogey Man” Dean Lister (11-6) has signed a multi-fight deal to compete in the largest Canadian MMA promotion Maximum Fighting Championship, MFC accounced Friday.

Lister will debut versus former UFC title challenger Thales Leites (14-3) at MFC 23: Unstoppable on Friday at River Cree Resort and Casino outside of Edmonton December 4.

Read More About UFC Vet Dean Lister Signs With Canada’s Maximum Fighting Championship…

Regardless who wins the middlweight matchup at UFC 102 in Portland Saturday, Demian Maia (10-0) and “Great” Nate Marquardt (28-8-2) might get a second shot at each other 25-27 September at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships 2009 in Barcelona.

Both UFC title contenders will compete in the -87.9kg division, along with “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (11-3). Sengoku judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) and DREAM welterweight Andre Galvao (3-0).

UFC welterweight champ “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) will compete in the -76.9kg division, along with the UFC’s “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3), Japanese free agent “K-Taro” Keita Nakamura (15-4-2), and Brazilian free agent “Uirapuru” Marcelo Azevedo (3-5).

Read More About UFC Champ Georges St. Pierre, Strikeforce Heavyweight Contender Fabricio Werdum Among Grapplers at 2009 ADCC…

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked middleweight “Thunder” Yushin Okami (21-4-1) will face Dean Lister (11-5) 27 December in Las Vegas at UFC 92, according to MMA Weekly.

Okami is coming off two consectutive wins.  His last fight was in March, when he KO’d the late Evan Tanner (32-8-0) in the second round.

Okami was expected to rematch with Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (22-4) for the title but injured his hand during training.

Lister also won his last two fights, most recently submitting “Gumby” Jeremy Horn (80-18-5) with a first-round guillotine in June.

Three TUF champions highlighted the action in Las Vegas Saturday night: the original, the past, and the future.

The future shines brilliantly for The Ultimate Fighter’s newest blast into the mainstream consciousness, Amir Sadollah (1-0).

In his professional debut, Sadollah tapped “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-1) in an armbar at 3:02 of round one to win the seventh season of the popular SpikeTV reality show contest.

“Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), one of the two original Ultimate Fighters, looked physically fitter than ever in his third-round TKO of American Top Team’s Luigi Fioravanti (12-4) at 4:07.

After back-to-back “embarrasing” losses, “Spyder” Kendall Grove (9-5), TUF 3 champion, recaptured past glory in a three-round split decision over former UFC titlist Evan Tanner (32-8).

The likeable young TUF walk-on from Virginia, Sadollah, versus the cocky All-American favorite, Dollaway, was a rematch of an exhibition fight fought on the final episode of last season’s The Ultimate Fighter.

Saturday’s finish was almost a replay of that fight’s end.

Read More About Sadollah Taps Dollaway…Again, Sanchez Renewed…

Two of the most accomplished combat athletes in the world will fight on the undercard of the TUF 7 finale 21 June.

With over 100 fights on his official record, “Gumby” Jeremy Horn (79-17-5) is one of the most prolific mixed martial artists of all time.

In 2003, “Boogieman” Dean Lister (10-5) won the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Absolute Division championship by submitting “Cacareco” Alexandre Ferreira (16-5).

The two mixed martial artists will face-off in the Octagon at the TUF 7 finale.

Horn returned to the UFC last February, tapping out in guillotine choke to Nathan Marquardt (26-7-2).

Lister comes off a unanimous decision “W” over Jordan Radev (11-3) last December.