Efrain Escudero will make his first appearance inside the Octagon since winning the lightweight final at “The Ultimate Fighter 8” Live Finale when he challenges
Cole Miller at
UFC 103 “Franklin vs. Belfort” on Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The bout was part of a 13-fight lineup finalized by the UFC on Thursday.
A collegiate All-American wrestler, Escudero roared through the competition on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” capping his run with a unanimous decision victory against the favored
Phillipe Nover in December. Shaped by the Rage in the Cage and Cage Supremacy promotions, the 23-year-old Arizonan has secured nine of his 11 career wins by submission. Escudero was scheduled to face
Jeremy Stephens in April but withdrew from the match after injuring himself while training.
Based at American Top Team, the 25-year-old Miller has won back-to-back fights, both by submission, since his TKO loss to Stephens in January 2008. The Augusta, Ga., native last appeared at UFC Fight Night 18 in April, when he coaxed a tapout from the polarizing
Junie Allen Browning with a guillotine choke in a shade less than two minutes. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under
Ricardo Liborio, Miller has delivered 10 of his 15 victories by submission.
A catchweight superfight pairing former middleweight champion
Rich Franklin and former light heavyweight champion
Vitor Belfort at 195 pounds will headline UFC 103, along with a key heavyweight showdown between
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and
Junior dos Santos.
Rich Franklin vs.
Vitor Belfort
Junior dos Santos vs.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
Martin Kampmann vs.
Paul Daley
Josh Koscheck vs.
Frank Trigg
Tyson Griffin vs.
Hermes Franca
Efrain Escudero vs.
Cole Miller
Drew McFedries vs.
Tomasz Drwal
Jim Miller vs.
Steve Lopez
Nik Lentz vs.
Rafaello Oliveira
Ricky Story vs.
Brian Foster
Eliot Marshall vs.
Jason Brilz
Vladimir Matyushenko vs.
Igor Pokrajac
Rafael dos Anjos vs.
Robert Emerson
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