11 Bouts Booked for UFC Fight Night 20
Brian Knapp Dec 18, 2009
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir
Sadollah will meet former International Fight League standout
Brad
Blackburn in a featured welterweight showdown at UFC Fight
Night 20 on Jan. 11 a the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Eleven
bouts are now official for the event.
Sadollah rebounded nicely from his first professional defeat with a unanimous decision victory over Phil Baroni at UFC 106 last month. The 29-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native battered Baroni in the clinch and scored effectively from the outside, as he went the distance for the first time. Beset by injuries, Sadollah, a black belt in Sambo, has fought only twice since he submitted CB Dollaway to win the middleweight tournament on Season 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in June 2008.
Blackburn will carry a four-fight winning streak into the match.
The 32-year-old Los Angeles native last appeared at “The Ultimate
Fighter 9” Finale in June, when he notched a split decision win
against Edgar
Garcia. A potent striker, he holds notable victories against
former IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron,
reigning Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder Pat Healy and
Pride Fighting Championships veteran Ryo Chonan.
Blackburn has delivered more than half (eight) of his 15 career
wins by knockout or technical knockout.
Meanwhile, former Ring of Combat middleweight champion Mike Massenzio will lock horns with Gerald Harris in a preliminary tilt.
Massenzio, a decorated amateur wrestler, has not competed inside the Octagon since he succumbed to first-round strikes from Dollaway at UFC 92 in December 2008. The 27-year-old Edson Carvalho protégé has secured six of his 11 victories by submission. Noteworthy wins over one-time IFL middleweight champion Dan Miller and Drew McFedries anchor his resume.
Harris will ride a seven-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. The 30-year-old Oklahoman has finished four consecutive opponents inside one round, including Nissen Osterneck, whom he knocked out in 46 seconds to capture the Shark Fights middleweight crown in September. Harris has been stopped only once -- by Benji Radach -- in 15 professional appearances.
A pivotal lightweight matchup between the world-ranked Gray Maynard and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz will headline UFC Fight Night 20, along with a showdown between undefeated fighters Efrain Escudero and Evan Dunham.
UFC Fight Night 20
Monday, Jan. 11
Patriot Center
Fairfax, Va.
Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham
Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor
Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn
Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva
Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox
Thiago Tavares vs. Nik Lentz
Rory MacDonald vs. Michael Guymon
Kyle Bradley vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Gerald Harris vs. Mike Massenzio
Nick Catone vs. Steve Steinbeiss
Sadollah rebounded nicely from his first professional defeat with a unanimous decision victory over Phil Baroni at UFC 106 last month. The 29-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native battered Baroni in the clinch and scored effectively from the outside, as he went the distance for the first time. Beset by injuries, Sadollah, a black belt in Sambo, has fought only twice since he submitted CB Dollaway to win the middleweight tournament on Season 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in June 2008.
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Meanwhile, former Ring of Combat middleweight champion Mike Massenzio will lock horns with Gerald Harris in a preliminary tilt.
Massenzio, a decorated amateur wrestler, has not competed inside the Octagon since he succumbed to first-round strikes from Dollaway at UFC 92 in December 2008. The 27-year-old Edson Carvalho protégé has secured six of his 11 victories by submission. Noteworthy wins over one-time IFL middleweight champion Dan Miller and Drew McFedries anchor his resume.
Harris will ride a seven-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. The 30-year-old Oklahoman has finished four consecutive opponents inside one round, including Nissen Osterneck, whom he knocked out in 46 seconds to capture the Shark Fights middleweight crown in September. Harris has been stopped only once -- by Benji Radach -- in 15 professional appearances.
A pivotal lightweight matchup between the world-ranked Gray Maynard and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz will headline UFC Fight Night 20, along with a showdown between undefeated fighters Efrain Escudero and Evan Dunham.
UFC Fight Night 20
Monday, Jan. 11
Patriot Center
Fairfax, Va.
Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham
Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor
Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn
Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva
Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox
Thiago Tavares vs. Nik Lentz
Rory MacDonald vs. Michael Guymon
Kyle Bradley vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Gerald Harris vs. Mike Massenzio
Nick Catone vs. Steve Steinbeiss
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