Nick Newell will begin his World Series of Fighting tenure with a matchup against onetime Ultimate Fighter competitor Keon Caldwell.
The pairing, announced on Thursday, takes place at the promotion’s Aug. 10 WSOF 4 event in Ontario, California.
Caldwell had the briefest of runs with the UFC as a cast member of season 13 of TUF. After just a few days in Las Vegas, he decided he would prefer to return home for family reasons and left the show. At the time, Caldwell was a welterweight. He’s only fought once since then, and his matchup with Newell will be his first since July 2011.
The 23-year-old Caldwell has a 9-1 career mark, with eight knockouts and 1 submission.
Newell, 27, has a perfect 9-0 mark, with two KOs and six submissions. Born without a left hand, he competed as a collegiate wrestler before moving on to mixed martial arts, where he eventually captured the XFC lightweight championship before opting out of his contract to sign with a larger promotion.
WSOF 4 also added two other bouts: a matchup of UFC veterans Gerald Harris and Jorge Santiago, as well as a bantamweight bout featuring Marlon Moraes against Brandon Hempleman.