The final exchange looked like it might spell doom for Brown.  Wilks reversed a Brown standing Kimura and pulled guard, yanking Browns left arm behind his head.

“I was lucky to get out of [the Kimura],” admitted Brown after the fight.  “I don’t know how I got out.”

But, after several attempts, Brown successfully rolled free and, as the fighters stood, wrapped a guillotine choke around Wilks’s neck.  Wilks collapsed; and, Brown passed to full mount and released the choke.  Brown stung Wilks’s skull with fists and elbows before referee Leon Roberts stepped in to end the fight.

“I was neverous, a little jet lagged coming out over here,” an exhausted Brown said after winning.  “But, that’s what  champions are made of.  working my way up.”

Wilks might have won the first round with an aggressive clinch tactic that forced Brown to fight off the cage most of the round; but, Wilks wore himself out and entered round two gassed.  Wilks was saved by the bell at the end of round two when Brown wrapped a tight triangle choke around Wilks’s neck as Wilks plunged into Brown’s guard at the end of the round.

As speculated Monday, the UFC welterweight contender matchup between American “Quick” Mike Swick (14-2) and Brit “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) was officially announced for Manchester.

The co-main event pits Brit “Count” Michael Bisping (17-2), returning from a highlight reel knockout loss to “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (25-7) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas in July, across the Octagon from Canadian Denis Kang (34-11-1).

The rest of the card includes:

Matt Brown (10-7) v “Lightning” James Wilks (4-2)
“Real Deal” Ross Pearson (14-5-1) v Aaron Riley (28-11-1)
Terry Etim (13-2) v Shannon Gugerty (12-3)
“Relentless” Paul Taylor (10-5-1) v. “Hitman” John Hathaway (10-0)
“Slick” Nick Osipczak (5-0) v Matthew Riddle (3-0)
Alexander Gustafsson (7-0) v Jared Hamman (2-1)
Andre Winner (10-3-1) v “Crazy Cuban” Rolando Delgado (6-4-1)

MMA Junkie reported the possible match-up Wednesday morning after Fighters.com reported Monday that Brown had lined up an opponent other than former UFC welterweight champion “Terror” Matt Serra (9-6), a rumor that had been reported by MMA Weekly.

I guess the magic number is “3″: It takes three reporters to unveil an undercard fight on an event three months out.

Once described by Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) as “born to be a fighter“, Brown has racked up three wins versus a single loss in the Octagon since losing to Amir Sadollah (1-1) on season seven of The Ultimate Fighter. He TKO’d “Drago” Pete Sell (8-5) at UFC 96 in Columbus 7 March.

Brown has left his primary training camp at JG MMA Academy in Cincinnati to train in Las Vegas.

Wilks tapped Damarques Johnson (12-7) in a rear naked choke to win the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas 20 June.

105 is likely to also feature the returns of Brits middleweight “Count” Michael Bisping (17-2), welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6), and lightweight TUF 9 champ “Real Deal” Ross Pearson (14-5-1).

Silva lost a UD to former UFC middleweight champ “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-4) in 195-pound catch weight matchup at UFC 99 in Cologne 13 June, rendering him 1-3 in the Octagon and 1-5 in his last six fights.

Since returning to the big show after PRIDE’s collapse in 2007, Silva has had difficulty maintaining 205 pounds, though in PRIDE he fought as heavy as 220-pounds in the Open Weight Grand Prix. After his loss to Franklin, Silva announced he will debut as a middleweight in his next matchup.

Rumors floated that Silva would be matched versus middleweight “Count” Michael Bisping (17-2) at 105, but Bisping’s camp denied them.

Bisping will certainly fight on the card, probably in the main event, and Fighters.com confirmed last week that welterweight “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (16-5) thinks he’ll fight in Manchester.

Welterweight prospect “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (22-6) and The Ultimate Fighter 9 champions welterweight “Lightning” James Wilks (4-2) and lightweight “Real Deal” Ross Pearson (14-5-1) have all been rumored for Manchester too. All three are Brits.