Off the radar for almost a year, “The Ultimate Fighter 7” middleweight winner
Amir Sadollah will make his anticipated debut at 170 pounds against
Johny Hendricks at UFC 101 on Aug. 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The UFC announced the matchup, along with several others, on Monday.
Sadollah (1-0) has not appeared since his submission victory against
CB Dollaway at “The Ultimate Fighter 7” Finale in June. The 28-year-old surprised almost everyone with his success on the show, since he had no previous professional mixed martial arts experience. He defeated
Steve Byrnes, International Fight League veteran
Gerald Harris and Dollaway en route to the final. Sadollah has since pulled out of fights at UFC 91 and UFC Fight Night 17 with injuries.
A four-time All-American wrestler and two-time national champion at Oklahoma State University, Hendricks (5-0) was part of the welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight exodus from World Extreme Cagefighting. He last competed at WEC 39 in March, when he defeated
Alex Serdyukov by unanimous decision. None of Hendricks’ previous four bouts went the distance.
Middleweights will also be in the limelight at UFC 101.
Former middleweight King of Pancrase
Ricardo Almeida, although he has hinted at a possible move to welterweight, will remain at 185 pounds to lock horns with
Kendall Grove in a pivotal bout for both men.
A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under
Renzo Gracie, Almeida (10-3) has produced mixed results since he returned to the UFC in February 2008. Wins over
Rob Yundt and former International Fight League champion
Matt Horwich were largely overshadowed by a dreary split decision loss to
Patrick Cote at UFC 86. The 33-year-old Almeida holds victories against top middleweight contender
Nate Marquardt, 2006 Pride welterweight grand prix winner
Kazuo Misaki and Japanese veteran
Ryo Chonan.
Grove (10-5, 1 NC), whose stock seems to be in constant flux, followed consecutive knockout losses to Cote and
Jorge Rivera with back-to-back wins against the late
Evan Tanner and
Jason Day. He finished Day with punches and elbows in a cool 92 seconds at UFC 96 two months ago. A 6-foot-6 Hawaiian with well-rounded skills, the 26-year-old Grove burst on the scene in 2006 when he won the middleweight competition on season three of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.
Meanwhile,
Josh Neer and
Kurt Pellegrino will collide in a lightweight showdown at UFC 101.
A
Pat Miletich protégé, Neer (25-7-1) has posted four wins in five fights, losing only to “The Ultimate Fighter 5” winner
Nate Diaz in that stretch. The iron-chinned 26-year-old has not competed since he submitted
Mac Danzig with a second-round triangle choke at UFC Fight Night 17 in February. Neer -- who holds victories against
Din Thomas,
Joe Stevenson and
Melvin Guillard, among others -- has delivered 21 of his 25 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
Pellegrino (13-4) will carry a two-fight winning streak into the match. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has never been knocked out, the 29-year-old New Jersey native last appeared at UFC Fight Night 17 in February, when he submitted
Robert Emerson with a second-round rear-naked choke.
A lightweight title bout between champion
B.J. Penn and
Kenny Florian will headline UFC 101, along with a 205-pound super-fight pairing reigning middleweight kingpin
Anderson Silva with former light heavyweight titleholder
Forrest Griffin.
B.J. Penn vs.
Kenny Florian
Anderson Silva vs.
Forrest Griffin
Amir Sadollah vs.
Johny Hendricks
Kendall Grove vs.
Ricardo Almeida
Kurt Pellegrino vs.
Josh Neer
Tamdan McCrory vs.
John Howard
Jesse Lennox vs.
Danillo Villefort
Matt Riddle vs.
Dan Cramer
George Sotiropoulos vs.
Robert Emerson
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