UFC 180 Main Card Gets Ellenberger-Gastelum, Lamas-Bermudez, Sanchez-Parke

---

The main card of UFC 180 received four new pairings on Tuesday: Kelvin Gastelum versus Jake Ellenberger, Dennis Bermudez versus Ricardo Lamas, Norman Parke versus Diego Sanchez, and Marcus Brimage versus Erik Perez.

UFC officials announced the matchups during a UFC 180 press conference in Mexico City. The pay-per-view event will take place on Nov. 15 at Mexico City Arena and will be headlined by Cain Velasquez against Fabricio Werdum for the promotion’s heavyweight belt.

Gastelum will look to remain undefeated against Ellenberger. Since defeating Uriah Hall at “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finale, the 22-year-old has won three straight against Brian Melancon, Rick Story and Nicholas Musoke.

Ellenberger will be the biggest test for the young Yuma, Ariz., native, coming off two consecutive losses against top-notch welterweights in Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler. Prior to the defeats, “The Juggernaut” had lost once in nine attempts.

In an important featherweight contest, Bermudez will look to win his eighth straight fight at the expense of Lamas. “The Menace” was on a three-fight losing streak before rallying off the last seven, including a bonus-earning win against Clay Guida at UFC on Fox 12.

Lamas will attempt to parlay his win against Hacran Dias at UFC Fight Night “Swanson vs. Stephens” with a win at UFC 180. The former No. 1 contender for Jose Aldo’s title, has only lost once under the Zuffa banner.

Parke will be getting what he asked for in his bout with Sanchez. “Stormin” cruised to victory against Naoyuki Kotani at UFC Fight Night “McGregor vs. Brandao” in July, finishing the Japanese fighter by technical knockout in the second round.

Sanchez, on the other hand, is coming off arguably the most disputed judging decision in UFC history, a split decision win against Ross Pearson in June. Prior to the win, “The Dream” had dropped consecutive bouts against Gilbert Melendez and Myles Jury.

Brimage will come into the bout riding a two-fight losing streak, dropping a pair of contests to Conor McGregor and Russell Doane. The loss to Doane at UFC 175 was controversial, as many mixed martial arts fans and pundits thought “The Bama Beast” should have gotten the nod.

Perez has accrued a UFC mark of 4-2 since joining the bantamweight ranks in 2012. His last outing saw him submitted by Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night “Henderson vs. Khabilov.”