On Monday, UFC officials announced a lightweight bout for the upcoming end December UFC 141 event, as Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist TJ Grant (17-5) faces wrestler Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann (13-2) at the year-end event.
Verbal agreements are in place for the unofficial UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem event, which is confirmed for December 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The headliner is expected to be a heavyweight bout between Brock Lesnar versus Alistair Overeem.
Volkmann has put together four straight victories, all of them by decision. ‘Christmas’ earned a unanimous decision over Danny Castillo at UFC Live; Hardy vs. Lytle this summer, a split decision against Antonio McKee at UFC 125, a unanimous decision against Paul Kelly at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko, and a split decision win over Ronys Torres at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi. Previous to those victories, Volkmann had dropped two straight, losing to Martin Kampmann at UFC 108 and Paulo Thiago at UFC 106.
Grant made his lightweight debut in his last Octagon appearance, submitting Shane Roller at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson earlier this month. The Canadian fighter is 1-1 in his last two and has been trading losses for wins going 4-3 overall in the UFC. The most recent loss was to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 124, a unanimous decision loss. Grant had been scheduled to fight in June at the UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry event against Matt Riddle and then Charlie Brenneman, but days before the event Grant was forced out due to illness.