Rising lightweight contender Evan Dunham (11-0, 4-0 UFC) will face possibly the stiffest test of his young career when he takes on former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk (33-4-1, 7-4 UFC) this September at UFC 119 in Indianapolis.  MMA Junkie has the scoop:

News of the impending match-up was relayed today to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by sources close to the promotion, who said that both fighters have agreed to the matchup and are expected to put pen to paper shortly

Dunham has been making waves at 155 after submitting TUF winner Efrain Escudero, and then going on to dominate top contender Tyson Griffin in a decision victory at UFC 115 back in June.  An extremely well-rounded fighter, Dunham has shown off dangerous boxing in fights against Per Eklund and Marcus Aurelio, and slick grappling against Escudero and Griffin.

Sherk will be dealing with some serious ring rust and a general lack of consistency, as he hasn't fought in over a year (dropping a decision to Frankie Edgar back in May of 2009), and prior to that, only fought twice in 2008 and once in 2007.  Once a formidable challenger with his powerful wrestling and dominating top-control game, Sherk has been hobbled by repeated injuries, and has looked all but mortal in his few recent appearances, where he barely attempted any takedowns against Tyson Griffin or Frankie Edgar.

The rumored card for UFC 119 on September 25th at the Conseco Fieldhouse now includes:

- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
- Ryan Bader vs. TBA
- Chris Lytle vs. TBA
- Jeremy Stephens vs. Melvin Guillard
- Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
- CB Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen
- TJ Grant vs. Julio Paulino
- Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione