Welterweight Contenders Fitch, Hendricks to Clash at UFC 141
Onetime welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch will
come down off the shelf to face once-beaten contender Johny
Hendricks on the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s year-end pay-per-view
card.
UFC officials Monday announced that Fitch and Hendricks (Pictured) have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 141, which takes place Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show’s five-round main event will feature former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar returning against ex-Strikeforce titleholder Alistair Overeem.
Fitch, 33, has not seen action since a contentious February draw with B.J. Penn at UFC 127, the first stalemate of Fitch’s career. The pair was set to rematch in July before a serious shoulder injury sidelined Fitch. The American Kickboxing Academy Standout underwent surgery in May to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and was cleared to resume training in mid-August. Prior to his draw with Penn, the former Purdue Boilermaker had won five straight unanimous decisions.
A two-time NCAA Division I champion from Oklahoma State, 28-year-old Hendricks has compiled a 6-1 Octagon record since transferring from World Extreme Cagefighting in August 2009. Hendricks suffered a unanimous decision loss to Rick Story last December, but has rebounded with a first-round knockout of T.J. Waldburger and an August split-decision victory over fellow wrestler Mike Pierce.
UFC officials Monday announced that Fitch and Hendricks (Pictured) have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 141, which takes place Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show’s five-round main event will feature former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar returning against ex-Strikeforce titleholder Alistair Overeem.
Fitch, 33, has not seen action since a contentious February draw with B.J. Penn at UFC 127, the first stalemate of Fitch’s career. The pair was set to rematch in July before a serious shoulder injury sidelined Fitch. The American Kickboxing Academy Standout underwent surgery in May to repair a partially torn rotator cuff and was cleared to resume training in mid-August. Prior to his draw with Penn, the former Purdue Boilermaker had won five straight unanimous decisions.
A two-time NCAA Division I champion from Oklahoma State, 28-year-old Hendricks has compiled a 6-1 Octagon record since transferring from World Extreme Cagefighting in August 2009. Hendricks suffered a unanimous decision loss to Rick Story last December, but has rebounded with a first-round knockout of T.J. Waldburger and an August split-decision victory over fellow wrestler Mike Pierce.
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