“Ultimate Fighter” season two winner Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (31-13) will drop to featherweight for his next fight after three straight defeats at 155 pounds, and a record of 2-5 in his last seven UFC bouts.
UFC officials made the announcement on Monday saying the former “TUF” winner would meet WEC fighter Javier “Showtime” Vazquez (15-5) at the upcoming UFC on Versus 4 card on June 26. The fourth Versus event has not been made official, and three cities are currently in the running for the event, but it’s believed that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the forerunner for the event.
Fan favorite Joe Stevenson has agreed to take on WEC vet Javier Vazquez at UFC on Versus 4, an event expected to take place in late June. The bout will be Stevenson’s first at featherweight and Vazquez’ UFC debut. “These two submission experts will go at it,” said Dana White.
Stevenson has won three “Fight of the Night” bonuses in the past and is probably one of the reasons he wasn’t given a pink slip after his third straight loss. Joe “Daddy” suffered a unanimous decision loss to Danny Castillo on March 3 at the last Versus show in Louisville, Kentucky. The other two losses came against Mac Danzig, a knockout loss, at UFC 124 last December, and to George Sotiropoulos by unanimous decision at UFC 110. Stevenson’s last win was a submission (elbows) victory against Spencer Fisher at UFC 104.
Vazquez will make his UFC debut when he steps into the octagon against Stevenson, and enters the match on a loss. He is 1-2 in his last three fights and is 2-3 overall fighting under the WEC banner. His last fight was in November on the WEC 52 card, losing a unanimous decision to Chad Mendes at the Las Vegas event. Both wins came in 2010, with submission victories over Mackens Semerzier at WEC 50 and over Jens Pulver at WEC 47.