Several fights booked for UFN 89 including Theodorou-Alvey, Bosse-O’Connell

A handful of matchups have been added to the UFC’s debut in Ottawa including a middleweight bout between Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey. The UFC’s return to the Great White North is beginning to shape up with the addition of seven new fights …

A handful of matchups have been added to the UFC’s debut in Ottawa including a middleweight bout between Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey.

The UFC’s return to the Great White North is beginning to shape up with the addition of seven new fights to UFC Fight Night 89, which also marks the promotion’s debut event in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, Ontario. UFC officials confirmed the following bouts on Tuesday.

UFC middleweights Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey are set to collide and with both coming off losses, they are both in need of a victory later this year.

Theodorou (11-1) won The Ultimate Fighter: Nations back in early 2014 with a stoppage win over Sheldon Westcott and has since gone on a 2-1 run. In his latest outing at UFC Fight Night 80 last December, he suffered his first pro loss — a decision to knockout artist Thiago Santos. His other UFC wins include a stoppage over Roger Narvaez and a unanimous decision over Bruno Santos.

Alvey (26-7, 1 NC) was riding a three-fight winning streak, all first-round knockouts, but then suffered a devastating TKO loss to rising contender Derek Brunson last summer at UFC Fight Night 73. He was supposed to return to action earlier this year but suffered a broken jaw in training.

Hard hitters Steve Bosse and Sean O’Connell are also set to square off in an intriguing light heavyweight bout.

Bosse (11-2) picked up his first UFC victory earlier this month with a shocking first-round knockout of James Te Huna in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to that, he made his long-awaited debut but suffered a knockout loss to the aforementioned Santos.

O’Connell (13-7) has had a mix of wins and losses during his UFC tenure. He lost his first two Octagon appearances to the hands of Ryan Jimmo and Gian Villante, but then picked up consecutive TKO wins over Matt Van Buren and Anthony Perosh. In his most recent bout, however, he was knocked out early by Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 81 this past January.

Tamdan McCrory is set to face Krzysztof Jotko in a pivotal middleweight matchup between two fighters on the cusp of the top 15 at 185 pounds.

McCrory (14-3) returned to the Octagon after several years away late last year and picked up a very impressive submission win over Josh Samman. The Barn Cat had six UFC fights in between 2007 and 2009 but then was sidelined for four years due to lingering injuries. Before returning to the Octagon at UFC on FOX 17 this past December, he picked up consecutive victories under the Bellator MMA banner.

Jotko (17-1) has won three consecutive fights since suffering the first professional loss of his career with decisions over Bradley Scott, Scott Askham and Tor Troeng. After making his debut over the aforementioned Bruno Santos, Jotko lost to Magnus Cedenblad at UFC Fight Night 41 in 2014.

Also added to UFC Fight Night 89:

UFC Fight Night 89 takes place live from The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa, Ontario on June 18. In the main event, top contenders Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson collide in a pivotal welterweight five-round matchup. Also on the card, former lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone faces Patrick Cote in a welterweight bout in the evening’s co-main event.