USA TODAY Sports
Earlier tonight you probably saw Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter. Those two will fight for Jones' LHW title on April 27th in New Jersey at UFC 159, and two more fights are confirmed for the card. Ariel Helwani reported on UFC Tonight (which saw Chael Sonnen debut as new co-host) that Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes will square off at 205 lbs, while Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson face each other in the heavyweight division. The official UFC Twitter account confirms both:
#Breaking: @vinnymma will face @philmrwonderful at #UFC159 at the @prucenter in Newark, NJ.
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) January 30, 2013
#Breaking: @roynelsonmma will face @kongo4real at #UFC159 #HEAVYWEIGHTS
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) January 30, 2013
Davis was due to fight Forrest Griffin at UFC 155 when Griffin withdrew after a knee injury. Before that he twice fought Wagner Prado, going to a no-contest in their first fight following an accidental eye poke, and then submitting the Brazilian in the October rematch.
This is Magalhaes' 2nd stint in the UFC, following a loss in the TUF 8 Finale to Ryan Bader and then a loss to Eliot Marshall. He won 7 of his next 8 fights, prompting a return to the UFC. Magalhaes showed off his world-class grappling in September, submitting Igor Pokrajac at UFC 152.
Cheick Kongo defeated Shawn Jordan at UFC 149 and hasn't fought since. He turned out a short-notice fight with Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale, which Dana White was not pleased with at all.
Nelson, who won TUF 10 and coached on TUF 16, was scheduled to fight Shane Carwin in the season finale but fought Matt Mitrione instead after another injury forced Carwin out. Big Country pulled off a KO win in the 1st round, giving Mitrione his first stoppage loss.
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