Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson (bantamweight)
and
Tim Boetsch vs. Kendall Grove (middleweight).
UFC 130: "Rampage vs. Hamill" is set for May 28, 2011, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Torres is fresh off a unanimous decision victory 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.
The former pound-for-pound stalwart -- 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 "Mighty Mouse" in "Sin City."
Johnson is fresh on the heels of the biggest win of his budding career; a dominant three round decision over the debuting Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto at UFC 126.
Prior to that, the 24 year-old "Mighty Mouse" had lost just once, to the man he is replacing, Brad Pickett, in his WEC debut. A convincing win over Torres would certainly catapult the speedy slugger to the upper reaches of the 135-pound division.
Also ticketed for the "Prelims" broadcast is middleweight veteran Kendall Grove as he welcomes burly brawler Tim Boetsch to the 185-pound division. Grove (12-8) is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision defeat to Demian Maia at last December's Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 12 Finale on Spike TV.
The loss pushed "Da Spyder" to 2-3 over his last five fights and the lanky Hawaiian has struggled to recapture some of the momentum he had coming from his impressive performance as TUF 3 champion.
Can he get back to his winning ways over the Memorial Day Weekend?
Boetsch (12-4) is coming off a submission loss to Phil Davis at UFC 123: "Rampage vs. Machida" last November. While tapping to the "Philmura" marked his first defeat since stringing together a four-fight winning streak, "The Barbarian" has apparently decided his talents would be better served by shedding a few pounds.
The results will speak for themselves on May 28.
In case you're just joining us, "Edgar vs. Maynard III" is now "Edgar vs. Maynard Not Yet" following injuries to both UFC 130 headliners, who will conclude their trilogy at some point in late summer/early fall after they're all patched up.
Filling in for them will be former co-main eventers Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill, who take over in the main event slot and create a spot on the main card for former "Prelim" fighters Thiago Alves and Rick Story, who will join the PPV line up as the opening fight of the night.
For a closer look at the re-worked UFC 130 line up click here.
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