Edwin Figueroa
UFC bantamweight fighters Edwin ‘El Feroz’ Figueroa (9-1) and Francisco Rivera (8-2, 1NC) appear set to square off this February at the upcoming UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar event.
The match was first announced by MMAJunkie.com on Wednesday night after confirming verbal agreements between the two fighters.
UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar is expected to take place on Super-Bowl weekend on February 2, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is headlined by a featherweight title match between champ Jose Aldo and challenger, former lightweight title holder, Frankie Edgar.
Figueroa has won two straight and is 2-1 since joining the UFC last year. ‘El Feroz’ was in action this past February at UFC 143, earning a split decision win over Alex Caceres after ‘Bruce Leeroy’ was penalized two points for kicks to the groin. Figueroa’s other win came in August 2011 with a TKO finish over Jason Reinhardt at UFC on Versus 5. Figueroa had been linked to a fight with Ken Stone at UFC on FX 4 but was forced out with injury.
Rivera was actually tapped as Figueroa’s replacement for the FX event but also suffered an injury and was pulled from the card.
‘Cisco’ was in action this past July at UFC 149 and had his knockout win over Roland Delorme changed to a “No Contest” after testing positive for an over-the-counter stimulant. The win would have made it four straight for Rivera who had earned a decision over Alex Soto at UFC on Fuel TV 3, returning to the UFC after two bouts with the Tachi Palace Fights promotion. Rivera debuted at the TUF 13 Finale, losing by submission and was subsequently released by the UFC.