Dos Santos-Nelson Official for UFC 117
Brian Knapp Jun 10, 2010
Surging Brazilian heavyweight contender Junior dos
Santos will lock horns with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10
winner Roy Nelson in
a featured heavyweight duel at UFC 117 “Silva vs. Sonnen” on Aug. 7
at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Nine fights are now official
for the event.
Dos Santos, believed to be on a short list of heavyweight title contenders, will ride a six-fight winning streak into the bout. The 25-year-old last appeared in March, when he stopped Gabriel Gonzaga on first-round punches at UFC on Versus 1 in Broomfield, Colo. Victories against 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, the world-ranked Fabricio Werdum and Dutch knockout artist Gilbert Yvel anchor his resume. Dos Santos has finished all five of his opponents, four of them inside one round, since he made his Octagon debut in October 2008.
A former International Fight League champion, Nelson has not
competed since he flattened the 6-foot-11 Stefan
Struve in 39 seconds at UFC Fight Night 21 three months ago.
The 33-year-old has been finished only once -- by former UFC
heavyweight champion Andrei
Arlovski -- in 19 professional appearances. A Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie,
Nelson has delivered 12 of his 15 career victories by knockout,
technical knockout or submission.
A middleweight title fight between embattled champion Anderson Silva and outspoken challenger Chael Sonnen will headline UFC 117, which will also feature a welterweight matchup between hall of famer Matt Hughes and former King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida.
UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen
Saturday, Aug. 7
Oracle Arena
Oakland, Calif.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
* Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson
Thiago Silva vs. Tim Boetsch
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
Rodney Wallace vs. Stanislav Nedkov
* Not official
Dos Santos, believed to be on a short list of heavyweight title contenders, will ride a six-fight winning streak into the bout. The 25-year-old last appeared in March, when he stopped Gabriel Gonzaga on first-round punches at UFC on Versus 1 in Broomfield, Colo. Victories against 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, the world-ranked Fabricio Werdum and Dutch knockout artist Gilbert Yvel anchor his resume. Dos Santos has finished all five of his opponents, four of them inside one round, since he made his Octagon debut in October 2008.
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A middleweight title fight between embattled champion Anderson Silva and outspoken challenger Chael Sonnen will headline UFC 117, which will also feature a welterweight matchup between hall of famer Matt Hughes and former King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida.
UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen
Saturday, Aug. 7
Oracle Arena
Oakland, Calif.
UFC Middleweight Championship
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
* Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson
Thiago Silva vs. Tim Boetsch
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
Rodney Wallace vs. Stanislav Nedkov
* Not official
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