Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown

An intriguing matchup between UFC welterweight contenders is one of several bouts that have officially been added to UFC on Fox 9, set for Saturday, December 14, in Sacramento. On Wednesday, the UFC announced that former 170-pound interim champion Carlos Condit will meet the hottest fighter in the division, Matt Brown, on the main card of the December event.

Condit, currently the number-two ranked welterweight according to the official UFC rankings, is coming off an impressive fourth round TKO victory over Martin Kampann at UFC Fight Night 27, successfully avenging his first loss in the UFC back in 2009. Prior to his last victory, Condit was riding the first losing streak in his UFC career after dropping decision losses to welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and current number-one contender Johny Hendricks in two ‘Fight of the Night’ performances.

Brown, currently 10th in the UFC rankings, is the hottest fighter in the welterweight division, rattling off six consecutive victories, including five knockouts. In his last fight at UFC Fight Night 26, “The Immortal” needed less than one minute to put away MMA veteran Mike Pyle in front of a sold out crowd in Boston.

A win for either man would put them within striking distance of a title shot against the winner of Georges St. Pierre vs Johny Hendricks at UFC 167, but a matchup against the winner of Robbie Lawler and Rory McDonald, also taking place at UFC 167, would make perfect sense for a number-one contender matchup.

Chad Mendes vs. Nik Lentz

A matchup between two UFC featherweight contenders has officially been added to UFC on Fox 9 card in Sacramento, with former 145-pound number-one contender Chad Mendes meeting the surging Nik Lentz in the cage on the main card of the December event.

Mendes, currently the number-one ranked featherweight according to the official UFC rankings, is coming off his fourth consecutive knockout victory inside the octagon, where he became the first man to ever finish Clay Guida by strikes at UFC 164.

Lentz, who was originally scheduled to face Dennis Bermudez at UFC Fight Night 31 before the UFC pulled him in order to face Mendes, is currently ranked eighth in UFC official rankings and has gone undefeated n three bouts since dropping to 145-pounds last year.

Since Mendes’ first and only professional loss to current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo back in 2012, the Team Alpha Male product has looked better than ever, and a win over a name like Lentz would all but secure a number-one contender bout for the former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler.

A win for Lentz would not only be the biggest win of his career, it would throw a wrench into the entire featherweight division as he sky rockets up the divisional rankings

Joe Lauzon vs Mac Danzig

Two veterans of the sport at 155-pounds are scheduled to trade leather at UFC on Fox 9 in December. On Wednesday, the UFC officially announced a matchup between the always-exciting Joe Lauzon and The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner, Mac Danzig.

Lauzon, currently tied with Anderson Silva for most post-fight bonuses in UFC history, is coming off the most disappointing performance of his career. Entering his bout with Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night 26, the Boston native was expected to not only put on another stellar performance, but to run right through this opponent in front of a sold-out home crowd at the TD Garden.

But the outcome was almost the polar opposite of fan expectations, as Johnson utilized a crisp jab to batter Lauzon for 15 minutes en route to one of the most lopsided victories in recent memory, giving Lauzon his second consecutive loss. One judge even scored the fight 30-25 in favor of Johnson, a score so unheard of it surprised even the winner.

Danzig, a three-time ‘Fight of the Night’ winner, enters this bout riding a two-fight losing streak of his own. He most recently suffered a second-round TKO loss to Melvin Guillard after dropping a razor thin split decision to Japanese icon Takanori Gomi.

Scott Jorgenson vs Ian McCall

The bantamweight division will officially lose one of its longest tenured fighters, as Scott Jorgenson has officially announced his plans to drop to flyweight. Jorgenson has been a mainstay at 135-pounds, but after a 1-3 stretch inside the octagon, including losses to current Champion Renan Barao and former number-one contenders Eddie Wineland and Urijah Faber, the former WEC title contender decided it was time for a change.

Well joe let cat out the bag a bit but ya 125 new home

— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) September 18, 2013

But Jorgenson will have his hands full in his 125-pound debut as he squares off against former top-ranked flyweight Ian McCall at UFC on Fox 9.

After posting a 1-2-1 record since officially joining the UFC back in 2012, with losses to current flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and number-one ranked Joseph Benavidez, McCall failed to live up to the hype surrounding his octagon debut. While he did manage to rebound with a victory over Iliarde Santos at UFC 163 in a “Fight of the Night” performance, the number-three ranked flyweight has a long way to go before a title shot falls his way.

UFC on FOX 9 takes place December 14, 2013 at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. A lightweight championship bout between Anthony Pettis and Josh Thomson has been confirmed for the night’s main event.