Rafael Natal
Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced a new middleweight matchup as well as confirming a previously reported bout for this months UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson event.
Swedish fighter Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal (14-4-1), who had been scheduled to face Magnus Cedenblad till the Swede was forced off the card, is set to welcome Octagon newcomer Sean ‘Black Magic’ Spencer (9-1) in a middleweight matchup, while previously announced middleweights Michael Kuiper and Josh Janousek were made official for the television event.
The announcement was made at UFC.com on Tuesday.
Sweden’s Magnus Cedenblad has also been forced out of his planned middleweight bout in the Windy City; stepping in to face Rafael Natal is Sean “Black Magik” Spencer.
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson (aka UFC on Fox 6) is scheduled to take place on January 26, 2013 at the United Center in Chicago Illinois. The television event is headlined by a flyweight bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Dodson.
Natal is 2-1-1 in his last three matches, suffering a second round knockout in his last fight. ‘Sapo’ was KO’d after taking a kick to the head at UFC on FUEL TV 4 by opponent Andrew Craig. Previous to that Natal had picked up two decision wins, one against Michael Kuiper at UFC 143 and the other over Paul Bradley at UFC 133. The draw was against Canadian fighter Jesse Bongfeldt via majority at UFC 124.
Spencer is on a three fight win streak but hasn’t competed since August of last year, winning a decision victory against opponent Evan Cutts at a Legacy Fighting Championship show. Previous to that, ‘Black Magic’ debuted with Bellator by winning via submission at Bellator 62 against Joseph Daily in March 2012.