Michael Bisping at the UFC 127 weigh-ins – Photo via UFC.com
Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced two big bouts for the upcoming UFC 152 event in Toronto this September, with Joseph Benavidez (16-2) taking on Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson (15-2-1) for the inaugural UFC flyweight title, as well as a middleweight bout between Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (22-4) and Brian Stann (12-4).
The Benavidez vs. Johnson title bout will headline UFC 152 which already has a big name fight announced for the card as Rory MacDonald meets BJ Penn in a welterweight matchup.
Officials with the promotion announced the two bouts late last night at UFC.com.
The first-ever UFC flyweight world title fight goes down on September 22nd at UFC 152 in Toronto. The four man tournament, which began in March, will culminate with Joseph Benavidez taking on Demetrious Johnson in what is sure to be a memorable bout between two gifted fighters on a historic night.
Additionally, the co-main event has been verbally agreed to as top-ten middleweights “All-American” Brian Stann and brash Brit Michael “The Count” Bisping battle it out on Canadian soil to move closer to a title shot.
UFC 152 is expected occur on September 22, 2012 in at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Benavidez stopped Yasuhiro Urushitani by second round TKO last March in the opening bout of the four-man UFC Flyweight tournament. It was the fourth straight victory for Benavidez who moved down from bantamweight for the fight. He is now 3-0 in the UFC which also includes wins against Eddie Wineland and Ian Loveland.
Johnson faced Ian McCall in back-to-back tournament eliminator matches, after their first bout last March in Australia ended in a draw due to a judges error. ‘Mighty Mouse’ walked away the victor in the second fight by winning a decision last June to move into the final. The former bantamweight fighter is 3-1-1 in the UFC.
Bisping will look for a win, and a shot at the UFC middleweight title against Stann, having lost a decision to Chael Sonnen last January in a No. 1 contender bout. Some, including this writer, felt that Bisping had won the fight but the judges saw it the other way. The defeat ended ‘The Count’s’ four fight win streak.
Stann was impressive in his last fight, having knocked out Alessio Sakara with short punches from the guard this past April in Sweden, for a first round finish. This put the former Marine back into the win column after a submission loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC 136. Stann is 4-1 since dropping to 185-lbs.