UFC 148 Gets 6-Fight PPV Card with Ivan Menjivar-Mike Easton, Chad Mendes-Cody McKenzie

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Two preliminary contests have been promoted to the UFC 148 main draw. Bantamweight veterans Ivan Menjivar and Mike Easton will now lock horns during the July 7 pay-per-view broadcast, as will featherweights Chad Mendes and Cody McKenzie.

The bouts complete the evening’s six-fight main card, which immediately follows the preliminary broadcast on FX. UFC 148 takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a long-anticipated middleweight title rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

Menjivar, 30, has yet to taste defeat in his recent run with the UFC, rattling off a trio of victories since rejoining the Las Vegas-based promotion last year. The 11-year veteran bested Charlie Valencia and Nick Pace before kicking off 2012 with a first-round technical knockout of John Albert on Feb. 15.

Easton has been perfect in his Octagon career to date, notching a second-round technical knockout over Byron Bloodworth this past October before taking a majority decision from Jared Papazian in his most recent outing at UFC on FX 1.

Mendes has not competed since suffering the first loss of his pro career on Jan. 14, when the Team Alpha Male standout was knocked out by featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142. “Money” had posted six victories under the Zuffa umbrella prior to that defeat, topping Erik Koch, Cub Swanson, Michihiro Omigawa and Rani Yahya, among others, to earn his title shot.

McKenzie introduced himself to UFC fans during his stint on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12. Following his time on the show, the 24-year-old posted a 2-2 Octagon record as a lightweight, most recently submitting promotional newcomer Marcus LeVesseur with his patented guillotine choke last month at UFC on Fuel TV 3.