UFC light heavyweight fighter Stephan Bonnar’s quest to defeat southpaw fighter Krzysztof Soszynski continues this Saturday at UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin and Bonnar thinks the fight will be similar to the first time. Well not exactly similar, in that a accidental headbutt opened a cut that ended the bout for Bonnar at UFC 110, which then saw the judges awarding the bout to Soszynski. Bonner seems ready for the rematch as he spoke of how he thought things would go down, via UFC.com:

“I’ve watched the first fight a bunch of times, and I definitely see the rematch being something similar. I did pretty well the first couple of minutes, and felt I got off to a solid enough start. I think my hands and defence could have been a little better as the fight went on, though. I got a little sloppy in places, and allowed Krzysztof to get off with some shots. I need to move my head a bit more in the rematch and not be static so much and in range of punches. I’m aiming to not get hit quite so much by his power-punches this time around. Preparing to face an opponent I’ve already fought is definitely a positive, as I’m already familiar with Krzysztof’s style and know what he’s all about. I’ve already spent nearly three rounds in his company, so I have a good idea of what he can and can’t do by this stage. I’m not going in there blind.”

UFC 116 will feature a heavyweight title matchup between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin and will also feature Chris Leben taking over for injured Wanderlei Silva as he faces Sexyama.

Heavyweight Championship bout: Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin
Middleweight bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
Welterweight bout: Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown
Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino

Middleweight bout: Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
Middleweight bout: Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch
Welterweight bout: Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz
Heavyweight bout: Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola

Catch Replay On Monday, June 28, 2010, At 10 P.M. ET/PT On SHOWTIME 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (June 27, 2010) – On a historic night of Mixed Martial arts presented by STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL and televised on SHOWTIME®, two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (14-4) registered the most spectacular upset in MMA history with a 1:09, first-round submission (triangle choke) over the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-2) before 12,649 Saturday at HP Pavilion.

Fedor, a six-footer, had Werdum in trouble in the opening moments after dropping him with a right uppercut that was followed with several more punches. But from his back, Werdum, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and member of Brazil’s vaunted Chute Boxe fight squad, got Fedor into a combination triangle- and arm-choke. Within seconds, the fight was over. The famed Fedor had tapped out.

“I am so very, very happy,’’ the six-foot-four Werdum said. “He is such a strong man. He is a great fighter. I would be glad to fight him again.’’

It was the first “legitimate’’ defeat in Fedor’s legendary career. His other loss, while official, came as a result of a disputed doctor stoppage due to a cut he sustained seconds into a matchup with Japan’s Tsuyoshi Kosaka on Dec. 22, 2000.

“One that doesn’t fall doesn’t stand up. I was concentrating on the strikes and made a mistake,’’ Fedor said. “I will have to go back and analyze what happened.’’

Saturday marked the first time in MMA history, the No. 1 male and female fighters in the world fought in the same cage on the same night.

While Fedor failed in a stunning shocker, the top women’s fighter, Cris Cyborg (10-1) of Curitibia, Brazil, was her usual brutal self as she retained the STRIKEFORCE Women’s World Middleweight (145 pounds) title with a dominant second-round (2:27) knockout (strikes) over game, determined challenger, Jan Finney (8-8) of Springfield, Ohio, in one of the featured fights on SHOWTIME.

In other televised fights, former STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion and hometown favorite, southpaw Cung Le (17-3) of San Jose, convincingly stopped Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith (18-7) of Elk Grove, Calif., at 1:46 in the second round; and popular, local fan favorite and former STRIKEFORCE world lightweight belt-holder Josh “The Punk’’ Thomson (17-3), of San Jose, turned back a determined bid of Pat “Bam Bam’’ Healy (23-16) of Portland, Ore., to score a hard-fought, third-round submission. A tight, even fight ended via rear-naked choke at 4:27.

In an emotional moment midway through the telecast, MMA pioneer and San Jose’s original favorite MMA son, Frank “The Legend’’ Shamrock, made one last walk down the ramp, in a suit, no less, and into the cage where he formally announced his retirement.

As the respectful fans stood and listened in appreciation, Shamrock, who is an expert analyst for SHOWTIME MMA telecasts, took the microphone, surrounded by family, promoters and executives, and said: “I’m 37. My time has come. Tonight, I announce my retirement. Tonight, I enter the cage for the last time as a fighter. I want to thank the people, my friend and an honest promoter, Scott Coker, for always keeping his word. In 2006, I threw one punch and STRIKEFORCE was born. Again, I want to thank all the people, the HP Pavilion and my family who put up with my craziness that was MMA. You, the fans were there when I won, and when I lost, and it was an honor for me to bleed and to break bones and entertain you.’’

Shamrock then slowly bowed to each side of the cage, precipitating one final roar of cheers from those in attendance.

By defeating Fedor, Werdum’s record now against the Emelianenko’s is 2-0. On Nov. 26, 2006, Werdum submitted Fedor’s brother, Aleksander, via arm triangle choke at 3:24 in the first round in Rotterdam, Holland.

Werdum may also have earned an immediate shot at STRIKEFORCE heavyweight world champion, Alistair “The Demolition Man” Overeem, whom he’s already defeated once. “I am ready to fight anybody,’’ Werdum said.

Cyborg, who had a meaningless point deducted for hitting behind the head in the opening round, praised Finney, who went down several times, but felt the fight could have been halted earlier.

“I was really surprised the fight wasn’t stopped in the first round,’’ said Cyborg after her 10th consecutive victory. “I know she was trying hard, but I could tell I was hurting her, especially when she was down and covering up like she was. But it is my job to keep fighting until the fight is over.’’

Cyborg was crowned the first STRIKEFORCE women’s champion in history on Aug. 15, 2009, after she stopped Gina Carano in the first round at HP Pavilion.

Finney fought as hard as anyone could expect and, true to her word, kept firing back.

“I think this, being a world title fight, could have gone on a little longer,’’ she said. “If I was really hurt, I would have tapped.’’

Southpaw Le, who had dominated Smith before getting stopped last Dec. 19, left little to doubt this time around. A spinning leg kick to the body dropped Smith and after a succession of punches, the referee stepped in. Afterward, an ecstatic Le back-flipped out.

“I want to thank Scott Coker and SHOWTIME. I know what happened last time and was determined not to have it happen again. I knew I was in shape. I was pushed really hard during training. I was totally focused. I didn’t eat pizza. I didn’t eat chocolate for six or seven weeks.

“If Scott Coker wants a rubber match, that would be fine with me. Last time was Scott (Smith’s) night. This was my night. I am the one standing.’’

A middleweight bout between Kendall Grove and Goran Reljic has been demoted to UFC 116's un-aired preliminary card, and a light-heavyweight fight between Seth Petruzelli and Ricardo Romero has been promoted to its slot on UFC 116's "UFC Prelims" special on Spike TV.

A source close to Spike TV today confirmed the change with MMAjunkie.com.

The source said Grove prompted the change after the fighter openly criticized the UFC's longtime cable partner and "The Ultimate Fighter."

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin is set to happen on July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Main Card

- Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Shane Carwin (heavyweight title-unification bout)
- Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva
- Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle
- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
- Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos

Preliminary Card (Spike TV)

- Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
- Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic

Preliminary Card (Un-aired)

- Gerald Harris vs. TBA*
- Julio Paulino vs. Daniel Roberts
- Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola

* – Not officially announced

Now that he’s dropped to the welterweight division, Ricardo Almaida (12-3) can’t wait to face former champ and UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes in the octagon. He is not one to take losses lightly and will look to avenge a previous loss to Hughes in 2000 at an ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship event.

Almaida asked for the fight after watching his teacher Renzo Gracie lose to Hughes at UFC 112. He cornered UFC match maker Joe Silva and asked for the fight before Hughes was even declared the winner.

“I was like, ‘Please let me fight Matt Hughes,’” Almeida told MMA Fighting. “I said, ‘That’s the fight I want. If you guys think it makes sense, let’s do it.’”

“Honestly I never thought about fighting him in MMA before,” he said. “But after I dropped to welterweight, here we are.”

Almeida has taken a different approach to preparing for the fight and has actually increased in size for the fight at 170.

“I changed some things in my training,” he said. “I brought in a nutritionist and someone to watch over the weight cut, so when I fought Brown I was five pounds heavier than when I fought Kendall [Grove]. When I fought Kendall I was 187, when I fought Brown I was 192 walking in the ring. Ever since the Brown fight I’ve been lifting weights and working on things outside of martial arts training. I’m probably 198 right now. Matt is a strong guy and I don’t want to be outmuscled by him. Putting on a couple pounds I think is going to help me. We’ll see how I deal with the weight cut but I’m confident it’s going to be no problem.”

“It’s a chance to be in the spotlight fighting a legend like Matt Hughes and pushing my game to a whole new level,” he said. “He’s probably one of the best wrestlers ever, for sure one of the best welterweights ever, and I’m preparing to fight that guy, the guy that beat the who’s who of the division. I’m very excited about it.”

UFC 117 will take place on Aug. 7 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Cali. and will be headlined by a UFC middleweight bout between champion Anderson Silva vs. challenger Chael Sonnen.

HT: MMAFighting.com

NEW YORK (June 2, 2010) – Can Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith, aka “The Comeback Kid,’’ do it again?

On Saturday, June 26, at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on SHOWTIME®, Smith will attempt to make it two consecutive victories over Cung Le in a middleweight (185 pounds) rematch of one of the most incredible Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) comeback victories of all-time.

The eagerly anticipated return bout between Smith (17-6), of Elk Grove, Calif., and Le (6-1), of San Jose, will take place on an already-stacked STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global fight card that features the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound MMA fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-1),against two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and top-ranked superstar Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (13-4) in the main event.

The universally recognized No. 1 female fighter in MMA, Cris Cyborg will defend her STRIKEFORCE 145-pound belt against Jan Finney, marking the first time in history that both the No. 1 male and female fighters will compete on the same card.

In another featured fight, former STRIKEFORCE lightweight (155 pounds) champion Josh Thomson (16-3), of San Jose, will try and regain his winning ways against Pat “Bam Bam’’ Healy (23-15) of Portland, Ore. Thomson lost a five-round decision in his last start to Gilbert Melendez in one of the most wildly exciting, give-and-take slugfests of the year on Dec. 19, 2009, at HP Pavilion. Healy is coming off a well-deserved, unanimous three-round decision over Bryan Travers during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on May 21.

Tickets are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and STRIKEFORCE’s official website (www.strikeforce.com). For more information, please also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com.

The SHOWTIME telecast will begin at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
The hard-hitting, never-say-die Smith is no stranger to dramatic, stirring, come-from-behind victories. He rallied to knock out Benji Radach on April 1, 2009, at HP Pavilion and registered a highlight-reel second-round KO over the UFC’s Pete Sell on Nov. 11, 2006.

Smith, however, may have outdone himself with his courageous performance against Le, coming back from the brink of absolute defeat to triumph by third-round knockout last Dec. 19 at HP Pavilion.

Smith had taken a frightful beating for two-and-a-half-rounds as southpaw Le, making his first start in 21 months, totally dominated. The one-sided proceedings seemed over at least a couple of times as everything was going Le’s way. His trademark spinning back kicks were connecting with startling frequency and were knocking Smith around the cage.

At one point, while Smith was on the ground after getting dropped, Le seemed to throw more than 50 consecutive punches. He slammed Smith once.

But Smith, a proven finisher who has never turned down a challenge, summoned the energy and heart – again – to twice drop Le. After he connected twice on a downed Le, the referee stepped in and halted the exciting battle at 3:25.

“This was one helluva fight,’’ said Smith afterward. “He had me the first two-and-a-half rounds, but I’ve got a hard head. On the knockdowns, I faked the right and threw the left. Everyone always looks for my right, but the left hook is my best punch.

“It took me until the third round to close the gap on him, but once I did and he began to drop his hands, I could sense things were starting to go my way. That’s when I feinted with the right and landed the left. It never matters who I fight. I just want these types of tough fights.’’

Le, a former STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion who relinquished the belt to concentrate on an acting career, offered no excuses but has been clamoring for a rematch since.

“He got the best of me last time with a good punch,’’ Le said. “We both fought our hearts out that night, but I’ve wanted a chance to turn the tables on him since that fight ended and now my opportunity is here. I am very excited to fight a warrior like Scott again.

“The fans in San Jose and those watching on SHOWTIME are in for a great fight again between Smith and me and a great night of fights.’’

Thomson, who shut out Melendez across five rounds to capture the STRIKEFORCE world 155-pound belt on June 27, 2008, lost a rematch by the scores of 49-46 twice and 49-47.

Like Le, the popular Thomson was coming off a lengthy layoff. It was his first start before a paying audience in 15 months due to injuries (he broke his left leg twice during training).

But Thomson showed against Melendez that he’s healthy again and he is excited about a possible rubber match. First, however, he must get past Healy.

“I’m up for a third fight with Gilbert if that’s what STRIKEFORCE wants,’’ said Thomson, who had an eight-fight winning streak end last time out. “I know this is a fight the fans want to see again. But my sole focus now is on winning my next fight. I can’t concern myself with future fights.

“For me, the future is June 26 and beating Healy.’’

Healy has defeated quality opponents since turning pro in August 2001. He was impressive outpointing Travers (13-1 going in) by the scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice. It was a rare points’ victory for the durable, well-conditioned wrestling specialist who has won more than half his fights via submission.

A winner of three in a row and five out of six outings, Healy is getting an opportunity against one of the fighters he most wanted to fight.

“’I’ll fight anyone but there are two guys in the 155-pound as far as I’m concerned and that’s Josh and Melendez,’’ Healy said. “A win over Thomson, then Melendez could be next for me.’’

A rematch between former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le (6-1) and comeback King Scott Smith (17-6) was made official by the promotion on Wednesday. The two will meet on the June 26 co-promoted “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum” event.

Their first meeting happened back in December of last year as part of the Showtime-televised “Strikeforce: Evolution” event. Le dominated the opening two rounds with his heavy kicks before succumbing to a left hand from Smith ending the fight via TKO stoppage.

Another bout announced for the June 26 card was between former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson (16-3) vs. mma veteran Pat “Bam Bam” Healy (23-15).

The June 26 Strikeforce event is headlined by WAMMA heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC fighter Fabricio Werdum. Tickets can still be found for the event, which will take place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

The official press release from Strikeforce is below.

NEW YORK (June 2, 2010) – Can Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith, aka “The Comeback Kid,’’ do it again?

On Saturday, June 26, at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on SHOWTIME®, Smith will attempt to make it two consecutive victories over Cung Le in a middleweight (185 pounds) rematch of one of the most incredible Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) comeback victories of all-time.

The eagerly anticipated return bout between Smith (17-6), of Elk Grove, Calif., and Le (6-1), of San Jose, will take place on an already-stacked STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global fight card that features the world’s No. 1 heavyweight and pound-for-pound MMA fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (31-1),against two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and top-ranked superstar Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (13-4) in the main event.

The universally recognized No. 1 female fighter in MMA, Cris Cyborg will defend her STRIKEFORCE 145-pound belt against Jan Finney, marking the first time in history that both the No. 1 male and female fighters will compete on the same card.

In another featured fight, former STRIKEFORCE lightweight (155 pounds) champion Josh Thomson (16-3), of San Jose, will try and regain his winning ways against Pat “Bam Bam’’ Healy (23-15) of Portland, Ore. Thomson lost a five-round decision in his last start to Gilbert Melendez in one of the most wildly exciting, give-and-take slugfests of the year on Dec. 19, 2009, at HP Pavilion. Healy is coming off a well-deserved, unanimous three-round decision over Bryan Travers during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on May 21.

Tickets are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online and STRIKEFORCE’s official website. For more information, please also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com.

The SHOWTIME telecast will begin at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

The hard-hitting, never-say-die Smith is no stranger to dramatic, stirring, come-from-behind victories. He rallied to knock out Benji Radach on April 1, 2009, at HP Pavilion and registered a highlight-reel second-round KO over the UFC’s Pete Sell on Nov. 11, 2006.

Smith, however, may have outdone himself with his courageous performance against Le, coming back from the brink of absolute defeat to triumph by third-round knockout last Dec. 19 at HP Pavilion.

Smith had taken a frightful beating for two-and-a-half-rounds as southpaw Le, making his first start in 21 months, totally dominated. The one-sided proceedings seemed over at least a couple of

times as everything was going Le’s way. His trademark spinning back kicks were connecting with startling frequency and were knocking Smith around the cage.

At one point, while Smith was on the ground after getting dropped, Le seemed to throw more than 50 consecutive punches. He slammed Smith once.

But Smith, a proven finisher who has never turned down a challenge, summoned the energy and heart – again – to twice drop Le. After he connected twice on a downed Le, the referee stepped in and halted the exciting battle at 3:25.

“This was one helluva fight,’’ said Smith afterward. “He had me the first two-and-a-half rounds, but I’ve got a hard head. On the knockdowns, I faked the right and threw the left. Everyone always looks for my right, but the left hook is my best punch.

“It took me until the third round to close the gap on him, but once I did and he began to drop his hands, I could sense things were starting to go my way. That’s when I feinted with the right and landed the left. It never matters who I fight. I just want these types of tough fights.’’

Le, a former STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion who relinquished the belt to concentrate on an acting career, offered no excuses but has been clamoring for a rematch since.

“He got the best of me last time with a good punch,’’ Le said. “We both fought our hearts out that night, but I’ve wanted a chance to turn the tables on him since that fight ended and now my opportunity is here. I am very excited to fight a warrior like Scott again.

“The fans in San Jose and those watching on SHOWTIME are in for a great fight again between Smith and me and a great night of fights.’’

Thomson, who shut out Melendez across five rounds to capture the STRIKEFORCE world 155-pound belt on June 27, 2008, dropped a rematch by the scores of 49-46 twice and 49-47.

Like Le, the popular Thomson was coming off a lengthy layoff. It was his first start before a paying audience in 15 months due to injuries (he broke his left leg twice during training).

But Thomson showed against Melendez that he’s healthy again and he is excited about a possible rubber match. First, however, he must get past Healy.

“I’m up for a third fight with Gilbert if that’s what STRIKEFORCE wants,’’ said Thomson, who had an eight-fight winning streak end last time out. “I know this is a fight the fans want to see again. But my sole focus now is on winning my next fight. I can’t concern myself with future fights.

“For me, the future is June 26 and beating Healy.’’

Healy has defeated quality opponents since turning pro in August 2001. He was impressive outpointing Travers (13-1 going in) by the scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice. It was a rare points’ victory for the durable, well-conditioned wrestling specialist who has won more than half his fights via submission.

A winner of three in a row and five out of six outings, Healy is getting an opportunity against one of the fighters he most wanted to fight.

“I’ll fight anyone but there are two guys in the 155-pound as far as I’m concerned and that’s Josh and Melendez,’’ Healy said. “A win over Thomson, then Melendez could be next for me’’

Press Release

Spike TV will telecast live undercard bouts from “UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin” on Saturday, July 3 at 9:00 PM ET/ 6:00 PM PT from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin,” featuring the heavyweight unification bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, will air on pay-per-view at 10:00 PM ET/ 7:00 PM P.T.

The first bout scheduled to air on Spike TV is a middleweight contest between Kendall Grove (13-7, 1 NC) and Goran Reljic (8-1). The pride of Maui, Hawaii, Grove burst onto the mixed martial arts scene by winning Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in June 2006. Grove’s last three wins in the Octagon have come over Evan Tanner, Jason Day, and Jake Rosholt and he will look to make a statement on July 3rd against Croatia native Reljic. The hard-striking Reljic made quite an impression in his UFC debut against WIlson Gouveia at UFC 84 in May 2008, winning via TKO and earning a “Fight of the Night” bonus. Following a layoff due to back surgery, Reljic engaged in a hard-fought three rounder against C.B. Doloway in his return to the Octagon at UFC 110 this past February.

The second scheduled bout of the evening on Spike TV features a heavyweight clash between “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ finalist Brendan Schaub (6-1) and Chirs Tuchscherer (18-2, 1 NC). Fighting out of Aurora, CO, Schaub easily handled Chase Gormley with a TKO victory in a mere 47 seconds this past March. A former Buffalo Bills practice-player, Schaub has honed his craft while training with Shane Carwin. He will look to use his prodigious punching power against former All-American collegiate wrestler, Tuchscherer. The Fargo, North Dakota product currently trains with Brock Lesnar and most recently defeated Tim Hague via decision at UFC 109 in February.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.

New York, NY, June 2, 2010 – Spike TV will telecast live undercard bouts from “UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin” on Saturday, July 3 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin,” featuring the heavyweight unification bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, will air on pay-per-view at 10:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM PT.

The first bout scheduled to air on Spike TV is a middleweight contest between Kendall Grove (13-7, 1 NC) and Goran Reljic (8-1).

The pride of Maui, Hawaii, Grove burst onto the mixed martial arts scene by winning Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in June 2006. Grove’s last three wins in the Octagon® have come over Evan Tanner, Jason Day and Jake Rosholt and he will look to make a statement on July 3rd against Croatia native Reljic. The hard-striking Reljic made quite an impression in his UFC debut against Wilson Gouveia at UFC 84 in May 2008, winning via TKO and earning a “Fight of the Night” bonus. Following a layoff due to back surgery, Reljic engaged in a hard-fought three rounder against C.B Dolloway in his return to the Octagon at UFC 110 this past February.

The second scheduled bout of the evening on Spike TV features a heavyweight clash between “The Ultimate Fighter 10” finalist Brendan Schaub (6-1) and Chris Tuchscherer (18-2, 1 NC).

Fighting out of Aurora, CO, Schaub easily handled Chase Gormley with a TKO victory in a mere 47 seconds this past March. A former Buffalo Bills practice-player, Schaub has honed his craft while training with Shane Carwin. He will look to use his prodigious punching power against former All-American collegiate wrestler, Tuchscherer. The Fargo, North Dakota product currently trains with Brock Lesnar and most recently defeated Tim Hague via decision at UFC 109 in February.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.

Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced another "UFC Prelims" special, and it'll take place in July for UFC 116.

The two-fight preliminary-card special, which precedes the night's pay-per-view telecast, features a heavyweight bout of Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer and a middleweight bout of Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic.

UFC 116 takes place July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and features a heavyweight title-unification bout between champion Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Shane Carwin.