UFC Veterans Carry Aggression MMA 2 Torch

Former TKO middleweight champion Jason Day will collide with banished “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 finalist Jesse Taylor in the Aggression MMA 2 “Vengeance” main event on Feb. 5 at the Edmonton Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The 28-year-old Day last competed in June, when he defeated Trevor Stewardson by second-round submission at Rumble in the Cage 35. Cut by the UFC following his technical knockout loss to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Kendall Grove at UFC 96, he has gone the distance only once in 26 career fights. Day -- a Lethbridge, Alberta, native who has been outspoken about his desire to compete at UFC 115 this June in Vancouver, British Columbia -- holds key victories against Alan Belcher, David Loiseau, Jonathan Goulet and Ron Faircloth.

Taylor has lost back-to-back fights, including a rear-naked choke submission defeat to Luke Rockhold at a Strikeforce “Challengers” show in November. A two-time collegiate All-American wrestler anchored at Team Quest, the 27-year-old was released by the UFC following his loss to C.B. Dollaway in July 2008. Taylor then rattled off seven consecutive wins, six of them finishes. In 18 career bouts, he has never been knocked out.

Aggression MMA 2 will also feature once-beaten International Fight League veteran Claude Patrick, as he locks horns with Matt MacGrath.

Patrick has strung together nine straight wins since his decision loss to middleweight slugger Drew McFedries in 2002. Nine of his 10 career victories have come inside one round, including a first-round submission against Daniel Grandmaison at a Canadian Fighting Championships event two months ago.

MacGrath, who will carry a two-fight winning streak into the bout, last competed in November, when he stopped Eon Shirley on second-round strikes. He has never been finished.