MMA

Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum headlines stacked UFC 180 card in Mexico City

Aug 26, 2014, 11:03 PM | Updated: 11:03 pm

Follow @AZSports...

The main card of the UFC’s first trip to Mexico City has finally been unveiled.

Tuesday, the UFC traveled to Mexico to kick off ticket sales for UFC 180 and unveil several bouts scheduled to appear on the November 15 fight card set to take place at the Arena Ciudad de México.

Headlining the card is the highly anticipated matchup between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum. This heavyweight bout comes after 12 weeks of coaching opposite one another on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America.

Velasquez (13-1), currently the number-one ranked heavyweight and number three pound-for-pound according to the official Power MMA rankings, is coming off a dominant fifth round TKO victory over longtime rival Junior dos Santos at UFC 166 in October. The former Arizona State wrestling All-American has been sidelined with a shoulder injury for the last several months, but has since been cleared to begin training for his upcoming title fight.

Werdum (18-5-1), currently the number-two ranked heavyweight, earned his shot at the champion with a 25-minute beat down of Travis Browne in the main event of UFC on FOX 11 in April. This gave the Brazilian submission specialist victories in seven of his last eight bouts, including four in a row under the UFC banner.

Other bouts announced for the November card include a welterweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Jake Ellenberger, a lightweight bout matching Diego Sanchez and Norman Parke, a featherweight fight between Ricardo Lamas and Dennis Bermudez and a bantamweight contest between Erik Perez and Marcus Brimage.

Gastelum (9-0) broke into the UFC by capturing TUF 17 title over the heavily favored Uriah Hall. Since then the 22-year-old Yuma native has rattled off three straight victories inside the octagon with his most recent coming against Nico Musoke at UFC Fight Night 44 in June. His opponent, Ellenberger (29-8), is coming off back-to-back losses against top-5 welterweights Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald. Prior to this losing streak, the UFC veteran had won nine of his last 10.

Sanchez (25-7), the TUF 1 middleweight champion, is coming off an extremely controversial split decision victory over Ross Pearson at UFC Fight Night 42 in June. This victory snapped the “The Nightmare’s” two-fight losing streak. Parke (20-2-1), the TUF: Smashes lightweight champion, is coming off a second-round TKO victory over Naoyuki Kotani at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin last July. This victory pushed the Northern Ireland native’s unbeaten streak to 11 straight, with a UFC record of 4-0-1.

Lamas (14-3), currently the number-five featherweight, has won five of his past six bouts, with his lone loss coming against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 169 in February. Bermudez (14-3), currently riding an incredible seven-fight win streak, is coming off a second-round submission victory over fan favorite Clay Guida at UFC on FOX 12 in July.

The 24-year old Pérez (14-6), who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, will be looking to get back into the win column after suffering a second-round submission loss to Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night 42. This gave “Goyito” two losses in his last three bouts. Brimage, an Alabama native, is coming off a split decision loss to Russell Doane at UFC 175 in July. This gave “The Bama Beast” two straight losses.

The prelims for the card will feature the final featherweight and bantamweight bouts from The Ultimate Fighter Latin America tournament. The series, which started airing August 20, is currently airing in Latin America on Televisa. Fans outside of Latin America can watch the inaugural season on UFC Fight Pass.

Comments

Comment guidelines: No name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, or insults. Please keep the conversation civil and help us moderate comments by reporting abuse.
comments powered by Disqus

MMA

Associated Press

Tyson Fury knocks out Deontay Wilder in 11th round thriller

Tyson Fury got up from two fourth-round knockdowns and stopped Deontay Wilder in the 11th round Saturday night, retaining his WBC title.

3 years ago

Conor McGregor sits while receiving attention for injury while fighting Dustin Poirier in a UFC 264...

Associated Press

Conor McGregor injures leg, Poirier wins UFC 264 showdown

Conor McGregor's leg and ankle buckled when he stepped back from a blow by Dustin Poirier that downed the former two-division UFC champion.

3 years ago

In this handout image provided by the UFC, Dustin Poirier reacts after his knockout victory over Co...

Associated Press

Dustin Poirier knocks out Conor McGregor in 2nd round at UFC 257

Dustin Poirier stopped Conor McGregor with a flurry of punches Sunday, avenging his loss to the Irish superstar with a knockout victory at UFC 257.

3 years ago

Associated Press

Usman, Volkanovski, Yan leave Fight Island with belts

Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight title with a smothering victory over short-notice challenger Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 on Sunday.

4 years ago

In this handout image provided by UFC, Dustin Poirier celebrates after his victory over Dan Hooker ...

Associated Press

Dustin Poirier wins decision over Dan Hooker in UFC thriller

Dustin Poirier won a thrilling unanimous decision over Dan Hooker on Saturday night after surviving a brutal second round.

4 years ago

Curtis Blaydes battles Alexander Volkov of Russia in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Ni...

Associated Press

Curtis Blaydes stifles Volkov in UFC heavyweight bout

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes dominated Alexander Volkov with wrestling Saturday night, earning his fourth consecutive victory.

4 years ago

Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum headlines stacked UFC 180 card in Mexico City