Season 13 winner of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ (TUF) Tony Ferguson returns to action at UFC 166 where he’ll face a member of season 15’s cast in Mike Rio. The Houston Chronicle was the first to report the news. UFC later confirmed the bout on Twitter.
Ferguson, 29, in addition to winning the thirteenth season of TUF, has gone 3-1 in his UFC run. He’s been with the organization since June of 2011, defeating Ramsey Nijem, Aaron Riley and Yves Edwards. He most recently competed at UFC on FOX 3 in May of 2012 where he lost a unanimous decision bout to Michael Johnson. His MMA record stands at 13-3.
Rio, 32, competed as part of the cast of the fifteenth season of TUF, but lost by submission to Andy Ogle in one of that show’s preliminary bouts. Since making his way to the UFC, he’s split his two contests inside the Octagon. He won his UFC debut against John Cofer at the TUF 16 Finale in December of 2012, but most recently was submitted by Franciso Trinaldo at UFC on FX 8 in May.
UFC 166 takes place on October 19th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The pay-per-view event is headlined by a trilogy fight between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez defending his title against former champion Junior dos Santos. UFC 166 also features a welterweight fight between Nate Marquardt and Hector Lombard as well as a lightweight battle between former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez.