After nearly his entire career has been spent in the finer-dinning of the light heavyweight division, Eric Schafer will be making the drop to the 185-pound class. The former UFC fighter last competed under the Zuffa banner when he was bested by budding prospect Jason Brilz last March, by unanimous decision. The loss marked two-in-a-row for the Duke Roufus product, and signaled his untimely release from the promotion. Now in hopes of re-entering the big show, Schafer wants to reinvent himself since coming off successful surgery, and the only way "Red" can do that is by shedding some pounds and making an impact as a middleweight. ...

The meteoric rise of Jon Jones has been well documented, while the less flashy climb to the top that Ryan Bader has traveled has been perhaps less noticeable. But, none the less, both competitors will find themselves pitted against one another when the collegiate wrestlers meet at an as of yet announced event in Las Vegas, Nev., for UFC 127. Jones, the proverbial golden boy of the light heavyweight division, has been nothing but impressive since his inception into the UFC. While his record reads 11-1, by all means the Endicott, New York, native is an undefeated prodigy. ...

UFC on Versus 1 was where The Ultimate Fighter 8 alum Eliot Marshall (7-2) found himself on the losing end of a fight for the first time in inside the Octagon. Is this going to be a trend for the less known fighters? ...

Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (15-0) weighed in two-and-a-half pounds under the 205-pound light heavyweight limit Friday, a day before he'll defend his titles from sixth-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-3) at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles Saturday. ...

Friday the UFC confirmed that the contender matchup between Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight and former WEC champ Chael Sonnen (22-10-1) and UFC contender “Thunder” Yushin Okami (23-4) is not scheduled for the pay per view broadcast of UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24. ...

Light heavyweight “Red” Eric Schafer (11-4) will face “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (2-2) UFC 93 in Dublin 17 January, Schafer announced on the weekend at the Gladiator Cage Fighting event.

Mendes was originally scheduled to face Andre Gusmao (5-1), who withdrew from the card for unknown reasons.

Schafer is coming off three first-round victories, most recently against “Assassin” Houston Alexander (8-4) via arm triangle choke in August.

Mendes suffered a submission loss due to strikes to Thiago Silva (14-0) in round one at UFC 84 in May.

Light heavyweight "Red" Eric Schafer (10-3-2) succesfully returned to the Octagon in Omaha Wednesday night with a first-round tap of "Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-4) in an arm triangle at 4:53. "That's for Evan Tanner!  My hero," Schafer dedicated the win to the former UFC Middleweight Champion who passed away last week. Schafer ate two knees early while reaching to wrestle Alexander to the mat; but, ten months to the day after having his ground game exposed by tenth-ranked Thiago Silva (13-0), Alexander has apparently yet to learn even the most basic ground defense. Schafer pressed Alexander to the fence, took him to his back, and passed immediately to side control, then the mount. As Schafer pounded Alexander, the "Assassin" failed to buck or even close the space Schafer used to rain G'n'P. Schafer then worked Alexander's left arm around Alexander's throat and sank in the arm triangle for the tap. ...

Light heavyweights "Nebraskan Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-3) and "Red" Eric Schafer (9-3-2) are a probable match-up for Ultimate Fight Night 14 on 17 September, reported MMA Junkie Friday. Alexander made his UFC debut knocking out Fighters.com's fourth-ranked "Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine (13-3-1) in May 2007 followed by a TKO over "Legionarius" Alessio Sakara (12-7) in September 2007, but is coming off two consecutive losses. Alexander's most recent loss, to "Sandman" James Irvin (14-4) in April, tied the UFC record for quickest knockout at 0:08 of the first round. "Red" Schafer returns to the Octagon after two first-round victories at the Gladiators Fighting Series. Schafer was TKO'd by "Count" Michael Bisping (15-1) and "American Psycho" Stephan Bonnar (11-4) in his last two UFC fights. Schafer, a submission specialist, is Alexander's choice, according to MMA Junkie. ...