A welterweight matchup was announced on Monday by the Ultimate Fighting Championship for August’s UFC 133 event. A couple of wrestlers will meet at the Philadelphia event, in veterans Johny Hendricks (10-1) and Mike Pierce (12-3).
“Powerhouse wrestlers collide as verbal agreements are in for Mike Pierce vs. Johny Hendricks in Philadelphia August 6th,” said UFC President Dana White.
UFC 133 is not yet official, but is expected to take place on Aug. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The main event had been tagged as a light heavyweight title bout between champion Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans, but an injury to Jones has forced him off the card. Evans has a new opponent in Phil Davis, but the promotion hasn’t made it clear if that bout, or another 205 lb matchup between Antônio Rogério Nogueira vs. Rich Franklin might be tagged as the new main event.
Hendricks earned the “Knockout of the Night” bonus in his last octagon appearance in March, by stopping TJ Waldburger by TKO in the first round of UFC Fight Night 24. The win put him back in the win column after suffering his first career loss to Rick Story, a unanimous decision loss at the “TUF 12 Finale” last December. Hendricks record with the UFC is now 5-1.
Pierce, who sports a 4-1 record with the UFC, has won his last three fights including a second round TKO victory over Kenny Robertson at UFC 126 in February. The other two wins in that stretch include a third round submission win over Amilcar Alves at UFC 118 and a unanimous decision over Julio Paulino at UFC on Versus 1.