It appears the next few months will provide Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia with an opportunity for gaining some closure relating to their December match-up at the Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. While the bout featured action from start to finish it was unfortunately the end-result fans likely remember when thinking of the featherweights’ fast-paced fight, as Garcia was awarded a controversial split decision though it seemed obvious Phan had done enough to earn the judges’ favor. In fact, the outcome was so questionable Dana White even decided to pay the 27-year old a win bonus regardless of him technically having lost.

Now, according to MMAWeekly, the men will have a chance to make things right on March 26 in Seattle at Fight Night 24.

Phan was a semi-finalist on TUF 12 but was paired with the WEC veteran based on experience gained prior to the show including fights with Michihiro Omigawa, Josh Thomson, and J.Z. Cavalcante. He holds a 16-8 overall record with seven TKOs and five submissions to his credit.

In Garcia he will face a fearless 15-6-1 former boxer who has seamlessly transitioned into Mixed Martial Arts with nine wins by way of submission. He has only been finished a single time in his career but also hasn’t seen a fight end in less than fifteen minutes since August 2009 (i.e. six in-ring appearances).

Their rematch is rumored to join a number of other notable bouts on the Fight Night 24 card including Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson.Similar Posts:

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• Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson in the works for March
• Griffin, Ortiz, Koscheck and Nogueira among highest paid fighters from UFC 106
• Japanese featherweight Michihiro Omigawa signs with UFC, will debut against Chad Mendes

Ultimate Fighter Season 12 semi-finalist Nam Phan will join a number of his castmates on Saturday night when the group steps into the Octagon and competes at the season’s finale. However, while his Ultimate Fighter peers are set to square off against each other, the more-experienced Phan will be facing former WEC title-contender Leonard Garcia at 145 pounds.

News of the pairing was first reported by MMAJunkie.

Based on both fighters’ previous performances it seems likely the bout should involve a heavy dose of stand-up. Phan is 16-7 in his career with seven TKOs and has shown a willingness to exchange on his feet, as evident in his semi-final bout against Michael Johnson. Garcia, who is 14-6-1 in his career, is also known for throwing caution to the wind where striking is concerned, though interestingly enough has won the bulk of his match-ups by way of submission.

In addition to Phan’s involvement on the card, the UFC has officially announced a bout featuring fellow “Final Four” fighter Kyle Watson against Sako Chivitchian, as well as a scrap between Brit Aaron Wilkinson and scruffy, submission-specialist Cody McKenzie. Also, as revealed on this past week’s two-hour episode, Jonathan Brookins and Johnson will compete for season’s crown in the evening’s headlining bout.
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Fearless featherweight Leonard Garcia will return to the Octagon for the first time in three years next month when he enters the infamous eight-sided cage to compete at the Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale.

According the card’s updated, official line-up, Garcia will face 11-2 Tyler Toner at the event. Toner went 1-1 during his run in WEC and hadn’t lost since April 2007 before being outpointed by Diego Nunes at WEC 51.

“Bad Boy” Garcia has only been finished a single time in twenty-one professional fights and holds an overall record of 14-6-1. The product of Greg Jackson’s gym in New Mexico is known for his love of throwing caution to the wind against opponents and exchanging strikes with reckless abandon. One of Garcia’s most-memorable examples of such a “strategy” came in his instant-classic against Chan Sung Jung (i.e. “The Korean Zombie”) at WEC 48 last April.

In addition to the 145-pound pairing, the Ultimate Fighter Season 12 Finale is also scheduled to feature Stephan Bonnar mixing it up with Croatian competitor Igor Pokrajac, submission-specialist Demian Maia taking on TUF 3 champ Kendall Grove, and, of course, the season-culminating bout between TUF 12 finalists.
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It appears the first bout featuring soon to be former WEC fighters inside the Octagon will take place before 2011 at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale on December 4th. On tap for the card is striker Leonard Garcia and relative new comer to WEC Tyler Toner. The bout will serve as the first featherweight contest in UFC history.

Garcia hopes to find more success in his return to the UFC, in which he previously fought as a lightweight in the UFC going 1-2 in that first run. Toner on the other hand will get his first shot on the biggest stage in MMA. Since joining WEC he has a TKO victory over Brandon Visher, but then lost a decision to Diego Nunes in his most recent bout.

The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale also features a main event light heavyweight bout between Stephan Bonnar and Igor Pokrajac.

Projected Card for the TUF 12 Finale:

Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac
TUF Finalist vs. TUF Finalist
Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia
Rick Story vs. Johny Hendricks
Rich Attonito vs. Dave Branch
Leonard Garcia vs. Tyler TonerSimilar Posts:

• UFC announces co-headlining bouts for TUF 12 Finale
• Kendall Grove fighting Demian Maia at Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
• Matt Hamill vs. Jon Jones in the works for TUF 10 Finale
• WEC 51 Results
• Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz and Nick Osipczak vs. Rick Story added to UFC 112

While many fans that had the pleasure to witness one of the greatest fights put on in recent memory between “The Korean Zombie” Chang Sung Jung and Leonard Garcia at WEC 48 had anticipated an immediate rematch between the pair, it now looks likely that that particular fight will have to wait.

It now looks likely that “The Korean Zombie” will in fact face off with George Roop at WEC 51, while Garcia is expected to face off with Mark Hominick at the same event according to recent reports at MMAWeekly.

WEC 51 is expected to take place on September 8 from the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado while airing live on Versus.

Nothing has been announced yet, but the card is expected to be headlined by a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Manny Gamburyan.

Garcia recently edged out Jung via narrow split decision in a wild slugfest widely considered to be the front-runnner for “Fight of the Year” honors, while Roop went to a draw with Garcia in his previous outing, and Hominick is looking for his fourth consecutive victory.

Fresh off a barnburner with fellow Canadian Yves Jabouin at WEC 49, Mark Hominick takes on another hard-swinging featherweight when he meets Leonard Garcia on the televised portion of WEC 51.

The match-up was first reported by MMAWeekly.com and confirmed today by MMAjunkie.com via sources close to the promotion.

Although not officially announced, WEC 51 takes place Sept. 30 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., and airs live on Versus.

It's not very often that fights become larger than life and actually
live up to the hype.

But at this past weekend's WEC 49 event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
Mark Hominick and Yves Jabouin combined to deliver a toe-to-toe battle that lived up to every bit of
the hype generated by eight years of build-up.

Surprisingly, despite getting up off the canvas to deliver a second-round
TKO of Jabouin, Hominick said he wasn't sure exactly how great the fight
was. In fact, there are a few seconds he doesn't even remember.

Before his victory over the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, WEC featherweight Leonard Garcia (14-5-1) wasn’t a name casual fans would recognize. Now after the two fighters epic WEC 48 battle on Spike TV, both fighters are household names.

Having to sit out his six-month medical suspension, Garcia has some time to prepare for his next fight and the two-time back-to-back WEC “Fight of the Night” winner say’s he’s gonna face a big name in his next fight. One that may have title implications should he win.

“It’s going to be a big fight, somebody I haven’t fought before, a really big name in the division, and it should definitely have title implications afterward. I’m trying to give you as many clues as I can without giving it away. To me it seems like a really exciting fight, because this guy’s always in really exciting fights.”

He’s got no plans on changing his style for this upcoming fight even if a title is on the line.

“I’m not going to change my style any time soon, so I guess I’ll just be in the back smiling again on the way to the hospital.”

Read more of Garcia’s comments as he talks about the ride to the hospital with the “Korean Zombie” and how much his fighting style frustrates his coaches off by visiting MMAFighting.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Instant fan favorite, WEC featherweight “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung talks about how his life has changed since his fight with Leonard Garcia at WEC 48.

HT: MMAExclusives – Youtube

Click here to view the embedded video.

WEC featherweight fighter “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung (10-2) wants to say hi to fans and say thanks for all of the support after his Spike TV bout against Leonard Garcia at WEC 48. Their bout earned both men $65,000 for earning the “Fight of the Night” on the WEC’s first ever PPV.

Click here to view the embedded video.