Lightweights Joe Stevenson and George Sotiropoulos are currently in negotiations to collide at UFC 110 from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21, 2010.
Bout agreements have been distributed to both fighters; however, nothing is official at this time. The good news is that MMAmania.com has learned that Sotiropoulos is eager to sign on the dotted line as soon as possible so he can compete in front of his hometown crowd for the first time ever as a UFC fighter.
And he'll likely have to do it against his stiffest competition to date.
Stevenson has picked up momentum after losing three of four bouts in a 13-month span, most recently defeating Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher in back-to-back bouts. The victory over Diaz -- who was making a run at a potential title shot -- was perhaps the most impressive and important of his young, yet distinguished, mixed martial arts career.
A former number one division contender, Stevenson has experienced somewhat of a rebirth thanks in large part to his training under guru Greg Jackson and his gang down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Daddy" will look to keep the streak alive in hostile territory when he takes on the Aussie native.
Star-divide
Sotiropoulos has not tasted defeat in more than three years, winning five straight, four of which have come under the UFC banner. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 alum has stopped all four of his contests inside the Octagon with a dangerous mix of submissions (three) and (technical) knockout power (one).
Jason Dent was the last man to try and derail the Sotiropoulos progress at UFC 106 earlier this month; however, he was forced to tap because of a slick armbar submission. Sotiropoulos is very talented on the ground, but won't have an easy go at it when he tangles with the submission-savvy Stevenson.
UFC 110 is expected to feature a heavyweight showdown between Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and Cain Velasquez to determine the next number one division contender. In addition, a 185-pound brawl between Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva in a bout that may have future title implications (especially with Dan Henderson being MIA) is also expected to fill out the top of the card.
Stay glued to MMAmania.com for more breaking news on the still-developing UFC 110 card in the days, weeks and months ahead.
I am certainly interested in this match up. I have been impressed with Joe recently, and George has been awesome since his time on TUF. I think I'll be pulling for George to collect the win.
I think this could be an epic fight. Im sure that Joe could get him down, but George is strong enough and good enough on the ground to not get dominated by Joe Daddy once this gets here. I hope this happens.
Oh hell yeah, thanks for posting this NikosCC, you're on top of shit. This is a fight I would love to see. I know Stevenson would be the obvious favorite, but I honestly think Sotiropoulos is as good of a grappler as Joe Stevenson. Very interesting fight.
Very very difficult fight for george. Joe is by far the more experienced guy and probably has better all around stand up then george. Add to the equation his superior wrestling, strength and solid submission defence and I struggle to see how george wins this fight.
I like George alot but am worried Joe may hold him down, and Joe has heavier hands so I think there is a good chance he could ko George if not submit him
Having said that George is improving at a rapid rate. Will definately see how good he is against Joe
Man, I really like Sotiropoulos, but I don't see how he can take out Joe. Especially with Jackson behind him he's gonna have the gameplan to keep the fight standing.
George isn't ready for Stevensoon, why have they made this matchup? Stevenson is obviously a heavy favourite, I don't really see the benefit of this. They could give George a tougher test without throwing him in against someone on the level of Stevenson.
Surprised the UFC would throw an oppenent of Stevenson's calibur to George at an event in Australia.
If the UFC wants to build up their Australian fighters in the homeland, George is probably the best choice. Give him another Jason Dent calibur opponent for Australia, then throw him in with the contenders.
That would be nice, but the UFC doesnt feed anyone easy fights. Chuck Liddell is one of the most popular fighters in UFC histroy, his fights only got tougher as he lost. They would love to have George become a big star, but thats not how they do business. They will only turn someone into a huge name if they can win there fights.
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