Lightweight prospect Edson Barboza, who’s striking skills have already been likened to that of current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, will be returning to the cage come this August as he will take on another talented striker in Ross Pearson.

UFC 134 will be the promotion’s formal return to Brazil, whom have not had the pleasure of welcoming a UFC event since 1998. The pay-per-view event is already littered with top level talent, and with the addition of this particular lightweight match-up, things can only get better.

“UFC: Rio” takes place in Rio de Janiero, Brazil at the HSBC Arena on August 27th and will feature a UFC title match pitting pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva as he attempts to defend his title for a ninth time against rival Yushin Okami.

While most likely still a relative unknown to most mixed martial arts fans, Barboza has all the goods to be a fighter that will be remembered for some time. His exciting style of fighting was enough to catch the eye of the UFC in 2010, as he debuted within the organization in November of last year. Entering the cage at UFC 123, Barboza was pitted against Mike Lullo upon his inception, however the American soon found out that he was well over his head. Edson battered him from start to finish, and eventually recorded a third-round TKO win mounting leg kicks left Lullo unable to continue.

Next, Barboza made his return to the cage when he took on former WEC contender Anthony Njokuani at UFC 128 this past March. Njokuani, one of the more talented strikers in the division, hung in there blow-for-blow with his Brazilian counterpart, and after splitting a round apiece, Edson came out strong for the final frame. He took advantaged of a fatigued Njokuani, eventually connecting on more occasions and even cemented the round by landing a beautiful spinning heel kick to the face, rocking Anthony in the final moments of the bout, though both men eventually saw the bout go to the score cards. There, Edson earned a well-deserved decision win, and both men walked away with some extra pocket money as they earned the evenings “Fight of the Night” award.

Meeting Edson in his next outing will be season nine winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Ross Pearson, whom is perhaps one of the more technical boxers in the lightweight class. Pearson recently scored a decision victory over perennial contender Spencer Fisher, at UFC 127 this past February. A back and forth striking affair eventually saw Pearson earn a decisive decision win over the 15-time UFC veteran. The victory also helped Pearson bounce back from a disappointing submission loss to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, Cole Miller. Prior to the loss, Ross had compiled a three-fight win streak inside the cage, which included dominant victories over notables Andre Winner, Aaron Riley, and Dennis Siver, respectively.

Both men coming from a strong striking background, and whom have both been known to meet in the center of the octagon and “slug it out”, it’s almost a no-brainer that this particular bout will be an early candidate for either “Knockout of the Night” or “Fight of the Night”. Regardless of the outcome, fans can expect an exciting bout turned in between these two.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think about the match-up? Who do you favor? Sound off in the comment section below.

MMA Junkie first brings word that a deal is in place to bring Spencer Fisher and Ross Pearson together for a fight on the preliminary card. A thirty-fight veteran, Spencer “The King” Fisher comes into this bout on a one-fight win-streak, and this fight with Pearson will mark his fifteenth appearance inside the famed Octagon. Pearson, the Lightweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9, recently had a four-fight win-streak broken by a submission loss to Cole Miller.

In addition to that bout, UFC 127 will now see a battle of big Heavyweights who need a big win in a big way. MMA Junkie also recently reported that Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer would also be taking place at UFC 127, also on the preliminary card. Mark Hunt’s recent debut in the UFC fulfills contractual obligations that have been postponed since the fall of PRIDE, all the way back in 2007. Hunt hasn’t won a fight since 2006 and is on a six-fight losing-streak. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer is a noted training partner of Brock Lesnar, and has gone 1-2 in his most recent Octagon efforts.

According to the MMA Junkie report, the announcement of these two bouts brings together a finalized UFC 127 card. So long as no fighters come down with injuries, the official card stands as follows (from top to bottom): Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn, Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera, Dennis Siver vs. George Sotiropoulos, Carlos Condit vs. Chris Lytle, Chris Camozzi vs. Kyle Noke, Spencer Fisher vs. Ross Pearson, Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna, Riki Fukuda vs. Nick Ring, Mark Hunt vs. Chris Tuchscherer , Maciej Jewtuszko vs. Curt Warburton, and Tom Blackledge vs. Anthony Perosh.

I’m really looking forward to this event, and I can’t wait to see it happen. I would have watched this show for the main event alone, but I commend the UFC for putting together such a fantastic card around what is already a fantastic main event. In regards to these two match-ups, I think Spencer Fisher will be a good test for Ross Pearson, who continues to struggle to break the mid-level barrier at Lightweight. If Pearson manages to beat the talented veteran, he’ll probably find himself back on the main televised card of a UFC event sooner rather than later.

It honestly breaks my heart, just a bit, whenever talks turn to Mark Hunt. So many people are quick to make him the butt of a joke, so many people just assume he’s garbage. Mark Hunt is definitely a victim of his own shortcomings, but the guy isn’t a bad person, and he always comes into his MMA fights looking to entertain. He’ll throw caution to the wind, striking with strikers and grappling with grapplers, just because he knows the fans want a show. Even with his gargantuan losing streak, Mark Hunt gets a pass from me… even though I think Tuchscherer is probably going to extend that losing streak.

And what about you, fans and friends? What are your thoughts on these two match-ups, and the completed UFC 127 card in general?

MMA Weekly brings word that a fight between Ross Pearson and Spencer Fisher is being targeted for UFC 127, which is scheduled to take place February 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Pearson won the ninth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, but most recently suffered his first loss in the UFC. Still, Pearson is 3-1 inside the world’s largest MMA promotion. He’ll have a tough test ahead of him, though: Spencer “The King” Fisher is a thirty-fight veteran with over ten fights in the UFC. Fisher is 1-2 in his last three bouts, but remains a tough test for virtually anybody.

We then head back to MMA Weekly, which also recently revealed that a fight between Paul Kelly and Sam Stout has been set in motion. The bout is supposedly going to take place at UFC 126, which is currently scheduled to take place February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sam Stout is a veteran of over twenty professional MMA fights, and is 3-1 in his last four fights. This fight with Stout will mark the fifteenth fight of Paul Kelly’s career, and Kelly is 2-2 in his last four fights.

I think both fights are solid match-ups, and I look forward to seeing them. I don’t think either fight will steal the show, but we’re almost guaranteed some fireworks in both bouts, so I should have little reason to grab the remote when these two fights get underway. Sometimes a match doesn’t have to be high-profile to be enjoyable, sometimes a good fight can just be a good fight. And these two fights definitely look good.

I think Ross Pearson needs a good win under his belt, especially over a fighter like Spencer Fisher. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the TUF champion handles coming back from a big loss in the promotion that’s made him a star. If Pearson can rise to the occasion, he may have it in him to one day go all the way. If Spencer Fisher emerges the victor, it’ll prove that no matter what else may come, at the end of the day you can never fully count out the UFC’s cast of wily veterans.

Stout vs. Kelly should be an entertaining brawl, since both men have shown a penchant for putting on some good brawls in their day. I think this fight will be an important stepping stone for both men, since they both seem to be at a crossroads of sorts in their careers. Five out of the six losses Stout has on his record have occurred in the UFC, and this bout may go a long way towards giving him the kind of relevancy that has eluded him for much of his UFC career. All three of Paul Kelly’s career losses have occurred inside of the UFC, so a big win in this fight should give him a big confidence boost as well as a credibility boost.

And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts or opinions on these two fights?

The event is said to take place at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 27.

The main event of the evening, though not officially announced, is understood to be former champion BJ Penn taking on perennial contender Jon Fitch in a welterweight clash. In the co-main event slot is expected to be a battle between middleweights Jorge Rivera and Michael Bisping, in a bout that will determine a new contender in the competitive weight class.

A new lightweight match up has been added to the card, which holds promise as a potential “Fight of the Night” candidate as both competitors have a penchant for punching people in the face.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the bout, which as of yet has not been determined to be on the main card for the pay-per-view event, but will most likely find a place on the televised portion, due to the intensity that both Spencer Fisher and Ross Pearson bring to the cage.

Pearson, the season nine winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” is coming off his first loss inside the octagon. Ross met with fellow TUF alumn Cole Miller last September at “UFC Fight Night 22″, eventually succumbing to a rear-naked choke after being dropped to the canvas by a strong combination thrown by the American Top Team product. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak that Ross rode inside the cage.

Fisher, a perennial fixture in the lightweight division is back on track in his UFC career. After back-to-back losses against notables Joe Stevenson and Dennis Siver left his career within the promotion in question, “The King” would then go on to obtain a unanimous decision victory over the heralded Kurt Warburton at UFC 120 in London, England. With the victory, Spencer has won four of his last six fights inside the octagon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the match up? How do you favor in this bout? Both men have very technical boxing skills, however the edge in experience is no doubt on Fisher’s side with his 30-fights, 14 of which have come inside the UFC. Sound off in the comment section below.

The bonuses were delivered last night following the conclusion of “UFC Fight Night 22″, which took place in Austin, Texas in front of a stellar crowd at the Frank Erwin Center before an estimated 7,724 people in attendance.

While it has been in rare form that no more than one bonus in each category be given out, UFC head honchos Dana White and the Fertita brothers felt the need to praise those who performed well, and it was well deserved.

Brian Foster out of the H.I.T Squad, picked up the “Knockout of the Night” award for his one-minute drubbing of veteran Forrest Petz. In the early going, Petz was game to stand and trade with the heavy-handed Foster, but it ultimately led to his demise when a straight right hand delivered by Brian sent Petz to the canvas. Foster followed up with additional blows, but the end was already decided and Foster moves his record in the UFC to an even 2-2 and picks up $40k for his performance.

Charles Oliveira made the most of his opportunity when he stepped on short notice to face season 8 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Efrain Escudero–who came in a staggering 8 pounds over weight for his lightweight bout with the Brazilian. Not only did Efrain forfeit 20% of purse, he also gave Charles the honors of “Submission of the Night” when the Jiu-Jitsu specialist was able to capitalize in a scramble and submit “Hecho en Mexico” with a standing rear-naked choke in the third round. This is Charles’ second time winning the submission bonus in his only two outings in the UFC.

Cole Miller also earned the “Submission of the Night” award after defeating fellow TUF veteran (and Season 9 winner) Ross Pearson by a rear naked choke of his own in the second round, after dropping the British slugger with a left hook and followed him to the ground, cinching the choke, the victory, and the bonus.

In preliminary action, Jared Hamman and Kyle Kingsbury let it all hang out. Kingsbury, who has been absent since a decision victory over Razak Al-Hassan at UFC 103 in September of last year while honing his stand up skills in Thailand, looked every bit of the improved fighter that he set out to be. Hamman, though, gave him everything he could handle. After three round of heated stand up exchanges, take downs, and fireworks throughout, Kyle–the American Kickboxing Academy product–came out on top with the unanimous decision victory, but both men claimed an additional $40k for their efforts as they both rightfully earned the coveted “Fight of the Night” award.

So, MMA peeps, were the awards justified? Anyone else you had in mind? Sound off.

Jason Dent is well known for his time on “The Ultimate Fighter” season nine where he lost to eventual winner “The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (16-5-1). I would say Dent is also known for his chin and the fact that he has only been stopped once due to knock our or technical knock out in his career. That is until he stepped inside the cage with Chris Lozano.

Chris was recently a guest on MMA Gospel Radio and talked about his thoughts on Dent. Chris has never been out of the first round as a pro, finishing all his fights by KO. He knew Dent had never been knocked out and that this was easily going to be the biggest test of his career.

He has never been so right as this fight was a war right from the start. Jason impressed me as always with his solid chin. Chris came out looking very fast with some crisp striking. He was using kicks punches, kicks and some spinning backfists to keep Dent guessing. All the whole Dent was working the leg kick. I think Dent wanted to slow Chris down, get him into the championship rounds and then put him on his back. The only problem with that was he did not take into account the heart that Lozano showed us all he had that night.

Going into the second round you could already see a welt starting to form on Lozano’s leg. It was clear that if this kept up he may lose all his power or end up unable to walk. As I was watching it struck me that we could be seeing a replay of the “Junior” Jose Aldo (16-1) versus “California Kid” Urijah Faber (23-4) fight. That fight had Aldo destroying the lead leg of Faber essentially making his striking and takedown attempts null and void.

However Chris seemed to dig deep and started switching stances and began throwing some of the most vicious elbows I have seen so far in the sport. He threw them from many different angles and you never could tell where the next one was coming from. Chris managed to do what so many have tried before and failed at which is to knock down Dent. Dent’s chin has never been a question but in this fight Lozano rocked him a few times.

In the end Ohio Athletic Commissioner Bernie Profato stopped the fight in between rounds. Dent was getting rocked and the fight was stopped “due to cuts”. Seeing Dent’s face I did not think any cut he had was bad enough to stop the fight and currently Fighters.com is awaiting a response from the Ohio Athletic Commission as the exactly what Mr. Profato saw that made him call the bout.

Lozano is a very hot prospect and showed in this fight that he has the skills, heart and warrior spirit to make it very far in this sport.

The addition of Caol Uno (25-13-5)to the UFC seems to have become a failed venture. His loss last night to Gleison Tibau (18-6) was one sided and will likely cause the release of Uno from the UFC. Uno offered up nothing in the way of offense and was an easy and much needed win for Tibau.

“The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (16-5-1) looked very sharp in his decision victory over Dennis Siver (15-7). Ross has been known to step in and engage in a slug fest but against Siver, a very dangerous fighter, he had a good game plan. He moved in and out and never stayed engaged to long. He had great head movement and his feints kept Sivers off guard and somewhat confused.

My only critique of Pearson’s performance was his lack of killer instinct. He seemed to hurt Dennis a couple times in the fight and rather than push forward and try for a finish he sat back playing it a bit safe. Granted he got the win but as he moves up in the division he will need to use a similar strategy but also be able to incorporate that finishing instinct. He could go a long way in the UFC given ample amount of time.

While I thought Joe Rogan was a little off his game last night and flat out wrong about a couple of things I will discuss later, he was dead on about Jorge Rivera (18-7). I have never seen Jorge look so good in a fight. He dominated the guy I picked to win the fight, “Rock” Nate Quarry (12-4). He picked him apart in the fight once he found his range. Nate did land some solid leg kicks but again, once Jorge found the range he unloaded on Nate with power shots that seemed to rock the “Rock” each time. I also thought Jorge looked lighter on his feet and seemed to take some solid punches better than he has in the past. This could be the start of a new fight life for Jorge and I am excited to see where he goes from here.

Then there was MMA Gospel fan favorite “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (16-4) taking on “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) in the co-main event. I think Struve can be a top contender in the heavyweight division in the future. He is young and the sky is the limit for him, no pun intended. Although in order for him to reach his full potential he will need to learn to utilize his height and reach advantage to his fullest. There is no reason Nelson should have gotten inside on Struve with very little effort. Struve needed to use his jab to keep Nelson at bay and instead of the leg kicks he should be using the front kick to the body. These are weapons a man of his size should be using to keep the shorter opponents outside their range so he can pick them apart.

Having said that I don’t feel he gave that fight to Nelson. I think Nelson worked hard and knew exactly what he had to do in order to win. It is hard to judge his performance because the fight only went 39 seconds but that is two big knock outs for Roy, a man many said was to fat and to slow for the UFC.

Now we move to the main event between Fighters.com seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6). This is where my critique of Joe Rogan comes in to play.

If you listened to Joe and Mike Goldberg you would think Kenny was destroying Gomi and that just was not the case. Granted Florian did a very good job in the first round using his jab to throw off Gomi’s plan of attack. That and his fast movement in and out of the pocket kept Gomi from unleashing anything substantial but then again Gomi has never been much of a defensive striker.In the past he has eaten plenty of punches in order to get inside to deliver his death blow. However in the first round he was blanked.

The second round told a different story though. Gomi was able to slip Florian’s jab and use a very effective one-two counter that had KenFlo putting on the brakes when working his own counter. It did not fully stop Kenny but it was working and proved to me that if Gomi were to take his training more seriously he could very well make a come back.

In the end though his ground game is still just awful as it always has been and Kenny’s seems to be getting better. The worst part for Florian is that he is stuck in a division where the champion is seemingly heads and tails above the rest.

All in all the Fight Night was full of exciting fights and fantastic finishes. Some shocking and others, well, not so much.

Florian weighed the limit at 156 pounds and Gomi weighed 155 pounds.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (14-4) and 6? 11? heavyweight prospect “SkySkraper” Stefan Struve (23-3) both also made weight for their matchup.  Nelson weighed 263 pounds while Struve weighed 248 pounds.

Fight night 21 will air live on SpikeTV at 8:00 PM EST.  The rest of the weights below:

Nate Quarry (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (186)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Dennis Siver (156)
Rafaello Oliveira (156) vs. Andre Winner (156)
Ronys Torres (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Rob Emerson (154) vs. Nik Lentz (155)
Gleison Tibau (156) vs. Caol Uno (156)
Lucio Linhares (184) vs. Yushin Okami (184)
Gerald Harris (186) vs. Mario Miranda (186)
Charlie Brenneman (170) vs. Jason High (170)

Florian had been publicly denying the rumors, but the Fighters.com reported last week that the matchup was inevitable.

In November 2008, Florian told Fighters.com, “I would love to [fight lightweights from Japan].  You know, there are so many great lightweights out there.  There’s a ton in the UFC already; so, it’s not like it’s not competitive right now.  But definitely, I’m always looking for new and exciting fighters to compete against; and, definitely there’s a lot over in Japan, and I’d love to be able to compete.  I just want to keep competing against the best and whether they’re in Japan or in the United States, then that’s great.”

After losing his second title shot to Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8, Florian is focused on cementing his legacy.  Bagging a Gomi is more for historical posterity than contemporary competition.

Gomi has won consecutive fights, most recently a unanimous decision over “Lionheart” Tony Hervey (11-6) at Vale Tudo Japan in Tokyo October 30.  But, he’s also suffered recent losses to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) at Sengoku in November 2008 and Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) at Sengoku in January 2009.  And, Gomi had even hinted recently that he was considering retiring from fighting to focus on surfing.

The matchup is expected to be the card’s main event.

MMA Junkie also reports that The Ultimate Fighter 9 lightweight champ “Real Deal” Ross Pearson (15-5-1) will fight at UFC Fight Night 21.

Pearson of England beat American Aaron Riley (28-12-1) by doctor’s stoppage at 4:38 of round two UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester Saturday.

His opponent is not yet known.

“Aaron was a tough, tough opponent for my first bouth,” said Pearson after the win.  “Everything came off perfect.”

An aggressive Pearson split Riley’s forehead just above the nose with a leaping knee as he controlled Riley in a Thai clinch.  Referee Marc Goddard stepped in as the clinch broke and waved in the cageside doctor who recommended the fight be stopped.

Pearson had overwhelmed Riley throughout the two rounds, often using the same Thai clinch that ultimately ended Riley’s night.

In round one, Pearons lined up and landed a short, straight right hand four times and put together a sweeping elbow-high-kick-elbow-high-kick combo that kept Riley backpedaling. Pearson also effectively utilized knees from the Thai clinch.

After the victory in round two, Pearson said, “I take this a lot series now.  I love training.  I love fighting. I’m just going to do this 100%.”

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.