UFC 126 Official with 11 Bouts
Mike Whitman Jan 13, 2011
Paul
Kelly (right) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
A lightweight scrap between former WEC talent Donald Cerrone and Brit Paul Kelly has been greenlit for UFC 126.
The promotion made the matchup official on Thursday. The event, which goes down Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, is now once again complete with 11 signed bouts.
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Cerrone has won three of his last four bouts and comes fresh off a second-round submission victory over former International Fight League talent Chris Horodecki at WEC 53. Though the pair exchanged evenly while standing in the first round, the second frame belong to “Cowboy.”
The 27-year-old locked up a triangle choke once the fight hit the floor, and although Horodecki fought it off for quite some time, eventually Cerrone found the correct squeeze. Prior to that triumph, the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts product avenged a 2009 loss to Jamie Varner at WEC 51, using newfound wrestling skills to dominate the former champion and earn a clear-cut unanimous decision.
An eight-time UFC veteran, Kelly holds a 5-3 record in the promotion and has bested the likes of Matt Veach and countryman Paul Taylor since he joined the big leagues. After fighting three times at welterweight and earning a record of 2-1 inside the Octagon, Kelly made the cut to lightweight in 2009. Since dropping to 155 pounds, the 26-year-old has defeated Veach and Rolando Delgado while falling to Dennis Siver and Jacob Volkmann. Most recently, Kelly earned a TKO victory over T.J. O'Brien at UFC 123 in November.
UFC 126 will be headlined by a middleweight title clash, as longtime champion Anderson Silva defends his belt against a resurgent Vitor Belfort. Also scheduled for Feb. 5 are two interesting light heavyweight tilts as Forrest Griffin squares off with Rich Franklin and Jon Jones meets Ryan Bader.
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