Five speculated bouts are now official for UFC 130 on May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, including a lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard (Pictured).
Also announced by the promotion was a light heavyweight scrap pitting Quinton Jackson against Thiago Silva, a heavyweight tilt featuring Frank Mir and Roy Nelson, a middleweight affair showcasing Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann and a welterweight showdown between Thiago Alves and Rick Story. All five bouts were revealed during the most recent episode of the online series “Ultimate Insider” on UFC.com.
Edgar comes fresh off a trying title defense against Maynard at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day. After being floored multiple times and nearly finished in the first round, the gutsy champion battled back over the next four frames to force a draw on the judges’ scorecards. Due to the closeness of the fight and the verdict, UFC President Dana White declared the pair would fight again in an immediate rematch.
Maynard remains the only man to ever beat Edgar. In their first fight at UFC Fight Night 13 in 2008, “The Bully” earned a unanimous decision over the future champion. Maynard has yet to taste defeat as a professional, and he owns eight of his 10 career wins by decision.
Jackson was last seen earning a close unanimous decision over fellow former titleholder Lyoto Machida at UFC 123. A former star of the Pride Fighting Championships promotion, Jackson unified the Pride and UFC titles in 2007, outpointing Dan Henderson at UFC 75. “Rampage” has won three of his last four bouts, earning victories over Keith Jardine and Silva before dropping a unanimous decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 114.
A product of American Top Team, Silva’s last performance in the Octagon was a memorable one, as he battered former heavyweight contender Brandon Vera, breaking his opponent’s nose en route to a unanimous decision victory. Prior to the bout, Silva had spent a full year on the shelf nursing a back injury.
Mir comes fresh off a knockout over Mirko Filipovic in the main event of UFC 119 in September. After nearly three full lackluster rounds from both men, Mir landed a perfectly timed knee to the head of “Cro Cop” on the break, earning the knockout with only 58 seconds remaining in the contest. Mir is a former UFC heavyweight champion and a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
With his contract troubles a thing of the past, Nelson strides toward his bout with Mir looking to rebound from a hard-fought decision defeat at the hands of Junior dos Santos at UFC 117 in August. “Big Country” has gone 2-1 in his run with the UFC, knocking out Brendan Schaub to win Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” before finishing Stefan Struve at UFC Fight Night 21.
Known for his dominant run as Pride’s middleweight king, Silva has found mixed results since rejoining the UFC in 2007. “The Axe Murderer” most recently got his hand raised in his 185-pound debut at UFC 110, besting Brit Michael Bisping in February 2010. Silva has been out of action since that bout, recuperating from knee surgery performed in July.
Stann turned in arguably the best performance of his career at UFC 125, using accurate, powerful punches to stop the always-game Chris Leben in the first round. A former WEC light heavyweight champion, Stann made the cut to middleweight in August, besting Mike Massenzio with a triangle choke at UFC Live 2.
A recent convert to the Dolce Diet, Alves looked razor sharp in his surgical dissection of John Howard at UFC 124 in December. Known for his struggles with his weight as much as his powerful leg kicks, the Brazilian reportedly had no problems in making the cut to welterweight with his new nutrition regimen. Prior to beating Howard, Alves had dropped consecutive bouts to champion Georges St. Pierre and perennial contender Jon Fitch.
A powerful wrestler, Story has won five straight bouts since dropping his UFC debut to British prospect John Hathaway at UFC 99 in 2009. Most recently, “The Horror” outpointed another tenacious grappler in Johny Hendricks. Story won a close unanimous decision at “The Ultimate Fighter 12” Finale in December.
