Tavares Replaces ‘Mayhem,’ Steps in Front of ‘A-Train’ at UFC 132
Chris Nelson May 31, 2011
Brad
Tavares will meet Aaron
Simpson in a middleweight matchup at UFC
132, replacing Simpson’s original opponent, Jason
Miller, who last week was drafted to coach the 14th season of
“The Ultimate Fighter” opposite Michael
Bisping.
The UFC Tuesday announced that Tavares (Pictured) has verbally agreed to take part in the July 2 event, which emanates from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
Tavares, 23, is a former “TUF” contestant, having reached the UFC reality show’s 11th-season semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winner Court McGee. The Hawaiian made his official Octagon debut in June 2010 with a unanimous decision over castmate Seth Baczynski, whom Tavares had beaten via disqualification during the season. On Jan. 1, Tavares added a major win to his 7-0 professional record, knocking out veteran Phil Baroni in the first round of their UFC 125 meeting.
An NCAA Division I wrestling standout and longtime assistant coach at Arizona State University, Simpson carries an MMA record of 9-2 with six knockouts. The 36-year-old “A-Train” began his career with eight straight wins, besting the likes of Ed Herman and Tom Lawlor in the UFC before falling to Chris Leben in a June 2010 stoppage. After dropping a decision to fellow wrestler Mark Munoz in November, Simpson rebounded on March 26 with a unanimous verdict over Mario Miranda at UFC Fight Night 24.
The UFC Tuesday announced that Tavares (Pictured) has verbally agreed to take part in the July 2 event, which emanates from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
Tavares, 23, is a former “TUF” contestant, having reached the UFC reality show’s 11th-season semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winner Court McGee. The Hawaiian made his official Octagon debut in June 2010 with a unanimous decision over castmate Seth Baczynski, whom Tavares had beaten via disqualification during the season. On Jan. 1, Tavares added a major win to his 7-0 professional record, knocking out veteran Phil Baroni in the first round of their UFC 125 meeting.
An NCAA Division I wrestling standout and longtime assistant coach at Arizona State University, Simpson carries an MMA record of 9-2 with six knockouts. The 36-year-old “A-Train” began his career with eight straight wins, besting the likes of Ed Herman and Tom Lawlor in the UFC before falling to Chris Leben in a June 2010 stoppage. After dropping a decision to fellow wrestler Mark Munoz in November, Simpson rebounded on March 26 with a unanimous verdict over Mario Miranda at UFC Fight Night 24.
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