Maximo Blanco
A pair of featherweight fighters have agreed to meet inside the Octagon come this April at the TUF 17 Finale as Maximo Blanco (8-4-1, 1NC) looks to capture his first UFC win by defeating opponent TUF 15 alum Sam Sicilia (11-2).
News of the matchup was confirmed by MMAWeekly.com early Saturday morning.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale (aka TUF 17 Finale) is expected to take place on April 13, 2013 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will feature the reality shows final of the middleweight tournament as well as a flyweight title match between defending champ Demetrious Johnson and top challenger John Moraga.
Blanco is riding a two fight losing skid having lost bouts with the UFC and Strikeforce promotions. The Venezuelan wrestler debuted in the Octagon last April at UFC 145, losing a split decision to Marcus Brimage at the Georgia event. Previous to that Blanco debuted with Strikeforce in September 2011, losing via first round submission to Pat Healy.
Sicilia is 1-1 since debuting this past June at the TUF 15 Finale. The Spokane, Washington fighter suffered a second round TKO defeat at the hands of Rony Mariano Bezerra at UFC 153 in October while stopping Cristiano Marcello by knockout at the TUF 15 Finale. The loss in October ended a seven fight win streak for Sicilia.