A preliminary-card bantamweight bout between Renan Barao (25-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and former WEC featherweight champion Cole Escovedo (17-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is now official for this month's UFC 130 event.MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported the fight this past month, and UFC executives since have made it official.
UFC 130 takes place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The night's main card, including a title fight between lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, airs on pay-per-view.
As MMAjunkie.com previously reported, the event is expected to feature a "UFC Prelims" special on Spike TV, though Barao vs. Escovedo isn't expected to be part of it.
Barao had been scheduled to fight Demetrious Johnson at the Memorial Day weekend event, but "Mighty Mouse" instead was pitted against Miguel Torres, who lost original opponent Brad Pickett to an injury, on the same card.
WEC vet Barao comes to the octagon on the strength of a virtually unblemished professional career in six years of competition. The Brazilian graduated from the lighter-weighted sibling of the UFC following back-to-back WEC wins over Anthony Leone and Chris Cariaso. He now has posted 25 straight wins since an unsuccessful pro debut in 2005.
Escovedo, a former WEC featherweight champ, makes his UFC debut on the heels of a 6-2 run. The former IFL, Strikeforce and DREAM fighter recently rebounded from back-to-back losses to Michael McDonald and Michihiro Omigawa with a first-round submission win over Steven Siler at a January regional event in Utah. Sixteen of his 17 pro wins now have come via stoppage.
The official UFC 130 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
- Champ Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (for lightweight title)
- Matt Hamill vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
- Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
- Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve
- Jorge Santiago vs. Brian Stann
- Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story
- Demetrious Johnson vs. Miguel Torres
- Tim Boetsch vs. Kendall Grove
- Cody McKenzie vs. Bart Palaszewski
- Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald
- Renan Barao vs. Cole Escovedo
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