Jorge Masvidal – Image by Esther Lin for Strikeforce.com
It’s been a busy day for Ultimate Fighting Championship officials with the addition of several bouts to upcoming events including the UFC on FOX 7 show this April. Former Strikeforce fighters Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal (23-7) and ‘Relentless’ Roger Bowling (11-3) are two of those fighters and will make their debuts at the San Jose event.
Masvidal is set to meet Tim ‘The Dirty Bird’ Means (18-3-1), while Bowling takes on Anthony ‘The Assassin’ Njokuani (15-7, 1NC) inside the Octagon. Both bouts will be fought at lightweight.
Officials announced the bouts as well as previously confirmed matches between Norman Parke vs. Jon Tuck and Myles Jury vs. Ramsey Nijem, at UFC.com earlier today.
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez (aka UFC on Fox 7) is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The event is headlined by a lightweight title match between UFC champ Benson Henderson and Strikeforce title holder Gilbert Melendez.
The event now features six lightweight matches on the entire card including the title bout.
Masvidal hasn’t fought since last July when he won a split decision against opponent Justin Wilcox at the Rockhold vs. Kennedy event. ‘Gamebred’ bounced back from a decision loss to Melendez in a lightweight title fight. That defeat ended a two fight win streak which saw Masvidal defeat K.J. Noons and Billy Evangelista.
Means is riding an eleven fight undefeated streak with two straight wins inside the Octagon. He was to have fought Abel Trujillo at UFC 151 but was rescheduled for UFC on FOX 5. On the weigh-in day of the Fox event, Means injured himself slipping in the hotel sauna and was forced out of the match. His last actual bout took place in June of last year at UFC on FX 3, picking up a first round TKO win over Justin Salas.
Bowling drops to lightweight after competing at welterweight in the Strikeforce promotion. ‘Relentless’ is 2-1 in his last three with a decision loss to Strikeforce welterweight champ Tarec Saffiedine last August at the Rousey vs. Kaufman event. The wins were both knockout finishes with a TKO stoppage against Brandon Saling in March and a KO of Jerron Peoples in December 2011.
Njokuani looks to get back into the win column after trading losses for wins over his last five Octagon appearances with a 2-3 record. ‘The Assassin’ lost a decision to Rafael dos Anjos last summer in San Jose as part of the UFC on FUEL TV 4 show. His last win came in April of last year, winning a decision against John Makdessi at UFC 145 in a 158-lbs catchweight bout after Makdessi missed weight.