A slew of talent is about to hit the FOX network, as four new lightweight match-ups have been added to the already stacked UFC on FOX 7 fight card.
TUF: Smashes lightweight winner “Stormin’” Norman Parke has agreed to face undefeated Jon “Super Saiyan” Tuck, while Myles “The Fury” Jury will put his 11-0 record on the line against TUF 13 runner-up Ramsey Nijem. Also featured will be “Relentless” Roger Bowling facing off against Anthony “The Assassin” Njokuani and Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal will take on Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means.
UFC officials announced on Wednesday that verbal agreements were in place for the above match-ups.
Parke (17-2) is coming off a huge victory over Team U.K. teammate Colin Fletcher this past December to be crowned the TUF: Smashes lightweight winner. He is currently riding a seven fight win streak and will fight for the first time in the United States at UFC on FOX 7.
Tuck (7-0) is coming off his debut win against Tiequan Zhang at UFC: Macao this past November. The UFC of FOX bout will also mark his debut in the United States.
Jury (11-0) dominated Ultimate Fighter 12 runner-up Michael Johnson and kept his undefeated record alive at December’s UFC 155 event. The fight with Johnson was his first time going the distance in his 11 professional fights.
Nijem (7-2) went 3-0 inside the Octagon in 2012 and will look to keep that streak alive against Jury. Most recently he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Joe Proctor at December’s UFC on FOX 5 event in his hometown of Seattle, Washington.
Njokuani (15-7) has been on a roller-coaster ride since coming into the UFC, having gone 2-3. Most recently, he was defeated by Rafael dos Anjos at July’s UFC on FUEL TV 7: Munoz vs. Weidman under-card.
Bowling (11-3) will be making his UFC debut and will be looking to get back into the win column. He is coming off a decision loss to Tarec Saffiedine this past August and went 4-2 under the Strikeforce banner.
Masvidal (23-7) will also be looking to keep his hot streak going entering the UFC. He is coming off a win against Justin Wilcox at Strikeforce 41 this past July. Prior to that he faced Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce lightweight title, losing a close but unanimous decision.
Means (18-3-1) is riding a nine fight winning streak, with his most recent victory coming over Justin Sales this past June. Means was expected to face Abel Trujillo at UFC on FOX 5 this past December, but on weigh-in day he was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a head injury that was caused by him falling in the sauna.
UFC on FOX 7 will go down on April 20 from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The main event will be for the lightweight championship as Benson Henderson puts his title on the line against Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez.
