Well it looks like Dennis Hallman’s wardrobe malfunction at UFC 133 won’t cost him his job with the UFC.
“Superman” Tweeted last night that he will be dropping back down to lightweight for the first time in 10 years to take on undefeated Canadian prospect John Makdessi at UFC 140 in December in Toronto.
A true moneyweight fighter, Hallman who is 50-12-1 (1 NC) in 64 professional fights as a light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight and lightweight, defeated Matt Hughes at 155 at UFC 23, earning him a shot at then-lightweight champ Jens Pulver at UFC 33, but fell short, losing to “Lil’ Evil” by unanimous decision. That was his last fight at 155.
In spite of a 2-1 record in the Octagon this time around, including wins over Karo Parisyan and Ben Saunders, Hallman found himself on thin ice with the promotion’s president Dana White after facing Brian Ebersole at UFC 133 wearing a Speedo. Ebersole, who made quick work of his veteran opponent, was awarded an unprecedented $70,000 bonus from White for saving the TV audience any further disgust by having them subjected to Hallman’s banana hammock any longer than necessary. White later remarked during the post-fight press conference that he wasn’t sure whether or not Hallman would fight again after “Speedogate.”
In spite of his experience, Makdessi (9-0) will be a tough test for Hallman. The former kickboxing standout who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and raised for most of his childhood in his parent’s homeland of Lebanon before returning to Canada where his family settled in Montreal, has not only never lost in MMA, he went a perfect 22-0 in kickboxing prior to making the jump to the cage. After controlling Pat Audinwood en route to a unanimous decision win in his UFC debut at UFC 124 last December, “The Bull” was the odds-on favorite of everyone, (including White who tweeted that Makdessi would likely get the bonus check) to win “Knockout of the Night” honors for his spinning-back-fist KO of Kyle Watson at UFC 129 this past April until Lyoto Machida crane-kicked Randy Couture into retirement later in the night.
The card’s headliner has yet to be determined, but a handful of match-ups have been reported for the event including Frank Mir versus Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Rory MacDonald versus Brian Ebersole, Rich Attonito versus Claude Patrick and John Cholish versus Mitch Clarke. Mark Hominick is also penciled in for the event, possibly against “The Korean Zombie” Jung Chan-Sung.
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UFC 140
December 10, 2011
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario
Frank Mir vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mark Hominick vs. Jung Chan-Sung
Rory MacDonald vs. Brian Ebersole
John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Rich Attonito vs. Claude Patrick
John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke