6 Fights Greenlit for UFC 125

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz will meet unbeaten South Korean judoka Dong Hyun Kim in a featured welterweight duel at UFC 125 “Resolution” on Jan. 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Six fights are now official for the event, which will air live on pay-per-view.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Cesar Gracie, Diaz has secured nine of his 13 victories by submission. The 25-year-old Stockton, Calif., native has won back-to-back bouts since moving to the welterweight division. Diaz choked Marcus Davis unconscious with a third-round guillotine choke at UFC 118 in August and owns other notable victories against lightweight standout Kurt Pellegrino, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product Melvin Guillard and the well-traveled Josh Neer. The younger brother of current Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, he has been finished only once -- by Hermes Franca -- in 18 professional appearances.

Kim last appeared at UFC 114 in May, when he earned a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah. The 28-year-old Judo black belt has delivered nearly half (six) of his 13 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Victories against Canadian standout T.J. Grant, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 quarter-finalist Matt Brown and Japanese veteran Hidehiko Hasegawa anchor his resume. Kim lost a split decision to Karo Parisyan at UFC 94 in January 2009, but the result was later overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after Parisyan tested positive for banned painkillers.

Meanwhile, former Pride Fighting Championships lightweight titleholder Takanori Gomi will collide with Clay Guida in a featured match at 155 pounds.

Gomi has posted three wins in his past four fights. He last fought at UFC Live 2 in August, when he knocked out Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts thoroughbred Tyson Griffin in 64 seconds at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego. Owner of one of the sport’s most trusted chins, Gomi has never been knocked out in 38 professional outings. He has pieced together two separate streaks of 10 or more wins and counts victories over one-time UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, former two-division Deep titleholder Dokonjonosuke Mishima, ex-Shooto middleweight kingpin Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and the world-ranked Tatsuya Kawajiri among his 32 career conquests.

Trained out of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., Guida will carry a two-fight winning streak into the match. The 29-year-old former Strikeforce champion defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 117 in August, when the Brazilian asked out of their encounter in the third round because of a jaw injury. Guida has posted nearly half (14) of his 27 victories by submission. Like Gomi, he has never been knocked out.

Finally, former World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight titleholder Brian Stann will lock horns with the resurgent Chris Leben in a featured pairing at 185 pounds.

Stann, a decorated war hero and member of the United States Marines, has not fought since he submitted Mike Massenzio with a third-round triangle choke at UFC Live 2 two months ago. The 30-year-old won put away each of his first six professional foes inside the first round en route to capturing the WEC crown. Stann owns a 3-2 mark in the UFC.

Back on the middleweight map, Leben will carry a three-fight winning streak into the bout. The Hawaii-based 30-year-old submitted Yoshihiro Akiyama with a third-round triangle choke at UFC 116 in July and owns other notable victories against the American Kickboxing Academy’s Mike Swick, Strikeforce veteran Benji Radach, current Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago and American Top Team’s Alessio Sakara. More than half (13) of his 25 wins have come via KO or TKO.

A lightweight title bout pairing champion Frankie Edgar with undefeated challenger Gray Maynard will headline UFC 125, along with a pivotal heavyweight tilt between the once-beaten Shane Carwin and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson. In addition, the oft-injured Thiago Silva will toe the line against Brandon Vera in a featured duel at 205 pounds.

UFC 125 “Resolution”
Saturday, Jan. 1
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas

UFC Lightweight Championship
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
Takanori Gomi vs. Clay Guida
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
* Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares

* Not Official