Lavar Johnson defeats Pat Barry at UFC on FOX 3 – Photo by Josh Hedges for UFC.com
Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship added four more bouts to this December’s UFC on FOX 5 card, moving two bouts from the now cancelled UFC 151 card, and announcing two new matches to the Seattle show.
UFC on FOX 5′s stacked card has added even more star power, with heavyweight power punchers Lavar “Big” Johnson (17-6) and Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub (8-3) verbally agreeing to fight December 8 in Seattle, Washington.
Verbals are also in for two of the most exciting fighters in the welterweight division to meet as Matt “The Immortal” Brown (15-11) takes on Mike “Quick” Swick (15-4) at that event.
In addition, two lightweight bouts originally booked for the cancelled UFC 151 have been bumped to the Seattle date: Daron Cruickshank (11-2) vs. Henry Martinez (9-2) and Tim Means (18-3-1) vs. Abel Trujillo (9-4).
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz (UFC on FOX 5) is expected to take place on December 8, 2012 at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Headlining will be a lightweight title bout between defending champ Benson Henderson and No. 1 contender Nate Diaz.
Johnson was in action twice this past May, going 1-1 in a span of three weeks. ‘Big’ Johnson suffered a quick 65-second submission loss against Stefan Struve at UFC 146 and earned a first round TKO victory over Pat Barry at UFC on FOX 4. Johnson also debuted with the UFC at the second FOX event, becoming the first fighter to finish Joey Beltran by knockout.
Schaub has dropped two straight, suffering first round knockouts in both losses. ‘The Hybrid’ was stopped by Ben Rothwell in April at UFC 145, and was finished by Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in Brazil at UFC 134. Schaub earned his last win in March of 2011, by stopping mma legend Mirko Filipovi? via third round knockout at UFC 128.
Swick made his long awaited Octagon return earlier this month at UFC on FOX 4, finishing DaMarques Johnson via second round knockout earning the “Knockout of the Night” bonus. Swick had been dealing with injuries and a condition called esophageal spasm, all of which had kept him out of the Octagon for over two years. Before his successful return, Swick had lost two straight losing to Paulo Thiago and Dan Hardy.
Brown is on a three fight win streak and is 4-1 in his last five matches. ‘The Immortal’ stepped in for an injured Matt Riddle last June at UFC on FX 4, stopping Luis Ramos via second round TKO. His other two victories in his current run were over Stephen Thompson at UFC 145 by decision, and a second round TKO finish of Chris Cope at UFC 143.