On Friday night, the Ultimate Fighting Championship updated the newly re-scheduled UFC 145 event, adding a bantamweight bout between former WEC champ Miguel Torres (39-4) and Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald (14-1), bringing the total card to ten confirmed bouts.
The update was announced on UFC.com by UFC president Dana White.
Verbal agreements are in for a thrilling battle between bantamweights this spring. “What may be the hottest prospect in the 135-pound division takes on one of the all-time greats when Michael McDonald meets former WEC champion Miguel Torres at UFC 145 in Atlanta,” said UFC president Dana White.
UFC 145 had been scheduled for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec for March 24, but a scheduling conflict forced the promotion to change the numbered event to a new date and venue. UFC 145 will now take place on April 21, 2012 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
A total of ten bouts have been confirmed for the card.
Welterweight bout: Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Michael McDonald
Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. States Ben Rothwell
Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Matt Wiman
Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs
Lightweight bout: John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero
Featherweight bout: Mark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin
Featherweight bout: Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco
Welterweight bout: Keith Wisniewski vs. Chris Clements
Torres returns to the UFC after being released last December following a controversial Twitter post about “rape vans”. Torres had since gone on to make amends by visiting and making donations to several local rape centers.
In the cage, Torres had his last fight in November, earning a unanimous decision over Nick Pace at UFC 139 in a 141-lbs catchweight bout after Pace failed to make weight. The win puts Torres at 1-1 after losing to Demetrious Johnson last May, and puts the former WEC champs record at 2-1 overall in the UFC.
McDonald has won seven straight which includes all three of his Octagon appearances in 2011. His most recent win earned him the “Knockout of the Night” bonus at UFC 139, after KOing Alex Soto in the first round of the San Jose event. ‘Mayday’ earned his other wins in the UFC against Chris Cariaso at UFC 130 and against Edwin Figueroa at UFN 24.