The undefeated heavyweight product was last seen in action when he dispatched of former PRIDE star Gilbert Yvel at UFC 121 last October in Anaheim, Cali.

The win was produced by a quick TKO finish for the HIT Squad member who doubles as a training partner for former UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar. The victory over Yvel was Madsen’s first finish inside the octagon and in turn has pushed his UFC streak to four-in-a-row and moved his overall stats to 7-0 as a professional mixed martial artist.

Madsen first came onto the scene when he was featured on the ultra-popular tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, where in the quarter-finals he was defeated by eventual show finalist Brendan Schaub. The South Dakota native was invited back at the show’s finale in December of last year where he defeated Justin Wren in a close split-decision.

Jon will quickly ascend the heavyweight ladder should he get past his next opponent in Mike Russow who made waves recently in one of the year’s biggest upset victories.

Russow, who is also under the same DeathClutch banner as is Madsen, was last seen in action when he defeated the previously highly-touted Todd Duffee. Duffee, who recorded the UFC’s fastest knockout victory when he defeated Tim Hague in just 7 seconds at UFC 102 in August of 2009, dominated Russow from the opening bell of their heavyweight affair this past May. At UFC 114, Duffee looked every bit the world beater everyone held him in high esteem as when in the first round he was able to drop Russow early. Though the Xtreme Couture product kept the pressure on and was seemingly en route to an easy decision victory, Russow connected in the waning moments of the third-round and knocked out Todd in a shocking upset.

The win helped extend his record to two-in-a-row inside the UFC.

A victory over one another here between Russow and Madsen will catapult the winner into contender status and we very well could be seeing one of these win working their way towards a shot at the title in 2011.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? MMAWeekly.com first reported the heavyweight affair–who do you see walking away the winner? Sound off in the comment section below.

The heavyweight star made waves right away in the division when his much anticipated octagon debut met and exceeded all expectations, when the 24-year-old knocked out veteran Tim Hague in just 7 seconds at UFC 102 in August of last year.

Sidelined due to injury, Duffee returned 9 months later and was thoroughly dominating PRIDE veteran Mike Russow for two and a half rounds. Then, out of nowhere, the body builder was put down by the body spiller, when a vicious right hand connected for Russow, another one followed and Duffee was out cold.

Now this wouldn’t be enough reason to release a previously undefeated heavyweight prospect with the kind of buzz that surrounded Todd, but if you read you might see why he got his UFC walking papers.

His meteoric rise to the top made him an overnight success in the UFC, after recording the fastest knockout in the company’s history, sky looked like it was the limit for Duffee before the bandwagon was derailed by Russow. However, even after the bout–which Duffee left from relatively unscathed, Todd was geared up and ready to go for a second time around. However, what ensued following the loss to Russow was a young-minded Duffee digging himself into a bigger grave over and over again, according to Travis of MMA Scraps Radio.

“Original fight (before Russow) was McSweeny but Duffee turned it down for a “bigger named opponent” He fights and losses, but that isn’t that big of a deal (it ends up being the way UFC can release him, but whatever) He accepts fight with Madsen, but then pulls out after mentioning that he needed time to do a movie. Apparently after that, he then said he was injured. UFC asked for paperwork from his doctor and it was sent, so he was covered there. He was given the go ahead to do the movie He tweeted some stuff about being broke and made comments about needing money. The final straw was when he talked a bunch of crap about the UFC to one of the UFC employee’s wives and Dana found out about it. That sealed the deal. Dana ordered him fired.”

If that wasn’t reason enough for the Zuffa company to serve Duffee notice and hand him his pink slips, then I don’t know what is.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of this excerpt? Was his release valid in the long run? Should the UFC had held on to Duffee? Will he make an inevitable return? Sound off in the comments section below. Thanks to MiddleEasy.com for the find.

Yvel, a talented Dutch striker who shook his stigma as a “bad boy” (after knocking out a referee in 2004) of MMA after several years of what is percieved as good behavior in the realm of the worlds most brutal sport, will return for the third time in the UFC.

After losses to heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos and the uncrowned IFL heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell–most recently at UFC 115, Yvel will look for his first victory in three tries when he meets rising prospect, Jon Madsen.

Madsen, a training partner to the current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, has been on a tear since leaving from his stint on the ultra-popular season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter”. Riding on a three-fight win streak inside the cage, the undefeated heavyweight wrestler hopes to send Yvel packing from the worlds premier organization with his third loss, while picking up his fourth-straight
victory and moving closer to possible title contention.

The bout will be regulated to the nights preliminary portion. UFC 121 will take place in Anaheim, California on October 23rd, at the Honda Center. The 11-card bout reads as the following, after the promotion made today official the full card.

Main Card

Heavyweight Championship bout: Brock Lesnar (c) vs Cain Velasquez

Welterweight bout: Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann

Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago

Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill

Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Preliminary card (Spike TV)

Middleweight bout: Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen

Middleweight bout: Patrick Côté vs. Tom Lawlor

Preliminary card

Welterweight bout: Mike Guymon vs. Daniel Roberts

Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Paul Taylor

Middleweight bout: Chris Camozzi vs. Dong Yi Yang

Heavyweight bout: Jon Madsen vs. Gilbert Yvel

So, now that it’s officially official, mma
peeps, what do you think of the 11 bouts taking place? It looks to be one of the bigger cards of the year. Which fight do you like best? Your opinions known below.

The UFC has signed Britain-based Czech heavyweight “Terminator” Karlos Vemola (7-0) to fight The Ultimate Fighter 10 contestant Jon Madsen (1-0) at UFC 116 in Las Vegas July 3, according Fighters Only.

Vemola signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC and enters the Octagon undefeated, most recently knocking out Peter Yendall (2-1) at Ultimate Challeng MMA in London February 6.

Madsen won a unanimous decision over Mostapha Al-Turk (6-6) at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi April 10.

Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked light heavyweight “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1) coached both fighters into the semis, and commented after Schaub’s victory, “He put those hands together and…wow!  He put him down.”

Schaub’s straight right blasted off twice, the first punch causing Madsen to plant his feet and cover his head and the second spinning Madsen to the mat on his stomach.  Referee Josh Rosenthal stepped in immediately to stop the fight, propelling Schaub into the semi-finals.

Madsen arguably won the first round with a pair of Octagon-shaking slams and controlling Schaub from top position, causing Evans to doubt, “After the first round, I didn’t know if [Schaub] would be able to put it together.”

But, evidently that was Schaub’s gameplan.  After the fight, Schaub revealed he expected Madsen to wear himself out wrestling and leave himself open to Schaub’s boxing in the second round.

But, then why was Schaub grabbing the fence over-and-over on the mat, stuggling to free himself from Madsen’s mount?

Evans said, “[Schaub] probably should’ve got a point taken away.”

But, it wouldn’t have mattered in the end as Schaub made sure the fight didn’t get to the judges.