Another bout looks to be on tap for the UFC’s first trip to Toronto as a welterweight bout between veterans Ryan Jensen (15-7) and Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald (24-14).
Sportsnet.ca broke the news Friday night indicating that both fighters had made verbal agreements but contracts were yet to be signed.
Jensen last appeared in October at UFC 121 losing to Court McGee by submission in the third. He’s 1-2 in his last three and sports a 2-5 record in two stints with the promotion. Previous to the McGee loss he earned a submission win over Jesse Forbes at UFC 114, earning the “Submission of the Night” bonus and lost to Mark Muñoz at UFC 108 in January of last year.
MacDonald is also in his second stint with the UFC. “The Athlete” returned to the promotion last May at UFC 113 against John Salter. In the first round Salter attempted a takedown which resulted in MacDonald breaking his leg ending the fight. MacDonald recovered from that injury and was set to meet Rafael Natal at UFC 124 last month but withdrew after suffering an injury during training. The Canadian is 3-1 in his last four bouts and is 5-6 overall with the UFC.
UFC 129 marks the first visit to Toronto for the organization and is set to take place on April 30 at the Rogers Centre and is headlined by a welterweight title bout featuring champion Georges St-Pierre versus challenger Jake Shields.