Michael Kuiper
Dutch middleweight Michael Kuiper (12-1) has a new opponent for this months UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson event in promotion newcomer Josh Janousek (8-1). Kuiper had been scheduled to meet Buddy Roberts but an illness forced Roberts out of the match.
News of the bout was announced by reporter Ariel Helwani for MMAFighting.com on Sunday afternoon.
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson (aka UFC on Fox 6) is scheduled for January 26, 2013 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The Fox television event is headlined by a flyweight title match between champ Demetrious Johnson and top challenger John Dodson.
Kuiper is 1-1 in the UFC and will look to build on a win last August after stopping opponent Jared Hamman by second round TKO at UFC 150. The Dutch fighter dropped his Octagon debut in February of last year, losing to Rafael Natal at UFC 143. The loss was the first of Kuiper’s pro-career which saw him win eleven straight.
Janousek has won six straight matches but has not competed since April 2011 when he earned a unanimous decision at a local Minnesota event. He competed four times in 2010 but has spent time coaching more lately than fighting. Janousek brings a base centered on wrestling having earned All-American honors at Minnesota State University.