Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be returning to Spike TV for its upcoming UFC 130 "Prelims" telecast that is expected to feature bouts of Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story (welterweight) and Miguel Torres vs. Brad Pickett (bantamweight), according to Sherdog.com.
UFC 130: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3" is set for May 28, 2011, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Torres is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126, picking apart the hard-hitting Mexican brawler for three straight rounds with crisp boxing and fancy footwork. It was the second straight win for the former WEC champion -- the Carlson Gracie-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu stylist choked out Charlie Valencia back in Sept. 2010.
Angel -- who now has his swagger back thanks to training under Firas Zahabi at Tristar -- will look to make it three straight, as well as continue his ascent toward the top of the division -- when he takes on "One Punch" in "Sin City."
Pickett, despite what his nickname suggests, hasn't scored a knockout since 2008. Nonetheless, he's won nine of 10 fights since that time, with his only loss coming (via decision) to the most recent number one division contender, Scott Jorgensen, back in Aug. 2010.
In his most recent appearance, Pickett earned a unanimous decision over Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53: "Henderson vs Pettis" in Dec. 2010. The fight against Torres will serve as the Octagon debut for the heavy-handed British import.
Also ticketed for the "Prelims" broadcast, Thiago Alves is working his way back up the ranks after dropping back-to-back fights to Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre and perennial contender Jon Fitch.
On top of those losses, the bulky brawler has also been plagued with weight issues, to the point of company President Dana White nearly forcing a move up to middleweight before ultimately deciding to give him one more chance to prove that he could cut the necessary weight to make 170-pounds.
One "Dolce Diet" later and "The Pitbull" had the bite to go along with the bark.
Meanwhile, Rick Story has quietly amassed a five-fight winning streak after dropping his Octagon debut at UFC 99 to John Hathaway. The wrestling standout feels he deserves a big jump up in competition and Alves certainly represents just that.
Will it turn out to be a "Horror-ible" mistake?
UFC 130 will feature a main event -- Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard -- for the lightweight title. Frank Mir vs Roy Nelson, as well as Quinton Jackson vs Matt Hamill, are also slated for the main card, among other fights.
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