The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced a bantamweight matchup between recent “Fight of the Night” winner Michael “Mayday” McDonald (12-1) and Nick Pace (6-1), who will meet at the upcoming UFC 133 card. Both men had been scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night 24, but an injury to Pace forced him off the card.
“Coming off an incredible Fight Of The Night win, top prospect Michael McDonald returns to the Octagon to face another exciting up-and-comer, Nick Pace, as they have verbally agreed to face each other in a bantamweight bout at UFC 133,” said UFC President Dana White.
UFC 133 has not been officially announced, but it is expected to take place on Aug. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsyvania.
McDonald met Edwin Figueroa at UFC Fight Night 24 after Pace’s injury, earning his fifth win and the “Fight of the Night” bonus. “Mayday” earned a unanimous decision in the prelim bout, going the distance for the first time in his thirteen fight career. McDonald has finished ten of eleven opponents in the first round by submission, or (T)KO. Previous to the win in Seattle, McDonald made his only WEC appearance last November, earning a first round armbar submission over Clint Godfrey at WEC 52.
Pace now has a second chance at McDonald, and will have been inactive for seven months by the time they meet in Philadelphia. Pace made his UFC debut in December at the “TUF 12 Finale” against Will Campuzano. He used a customized choke in the third round, now labeled “The Pace Choke” to earn the submission win. The victory erased a loss in his last fight, the first of his career, at the hands of Demetrious Johnson, a unanimous decision loss at WEC 51 in September.