According to a report from the FUEL TV show UFC Tonight, the UFC has asked heavyweight Roy Nelson to apply for a licence to fight in the co-main event of UFC 160 against Junior dos Santos just in case Mark Hunt is unable to compete.
Hunt is having visa issues and hasn’t been able to leave his native New Zealand and travel to the United States due to an unidentified arrest in 2002.
Hunt is still expected to meet dos Santos in a fight that could see the winner earn a title shot against the winner of Cain Velasquez versus Antonio Silva, the headliner at UFC 160. The UFC is simply trying to make Nelson available as precaution.
Nelson is coming off a knockout win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 159, his third straight first-round knockout. Back at UFC 117 in 2010, Nelson lost a unanimous decision to dos Santos.
VERA RETURNS TO HEAVYWEIGHT
Brandon Vera will be moving back to the heavyweight division after competing in the light-heavyweight division for the past five years.
A bout between Vera and Ben Rothwell is in the works for UFC 164 in August.
Vera’s first six fights in the UFC from 2006-2008 were contested at heavyweight and the former 2005 WEC Heavyweight Grand Prix champion went 4-2 in those fights. He won his first four, even earning a 69-second knockout of former champion Frank Mir at UFC 65.
The win over Mir earned him a title shot, but a Vera contract dispute led to Randy Couture replacing him being out of action for 11 months.
When he returned, he lost a decision to former champ Tim Sylvia and was TKO’d by Fabricio Werdum before deciding to drop to 205 pounds.
Rothwell is coming off a submission loss to Gabriel Gonzaga in January.
UFC 164 takes place Aug. 31 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Former No. 1 lightweight contender Diego Sanchez is expected to compete at the event but no other bouts have been named to the event to date.
BARNETT FINALLY REJOINING UFC?
Former UFC heavyweight and Pancrase Openweight champion Josh Barnett has expressed a desire to return to the UFC over 11 years after he won and was then stripped of the UFC heavyweight title for testing positive for banned substances.
Barnett recently suggested on Twitter he would either like to fight Frank Mir or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
If not Mir how do the fans feel about a rubber match to finalize the trilogy between me and Noguiera? I’m game to end it w/Big Nog. @ufc
— Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) May 14, 2013
UFC ADDS HEAVYWEIGHTS OMIELANCZUK AND KRYLOV
The UFC has added Daniel Omielanczuk and Nikita Krylov to it roster. Both European heavyweights were signed to multi-fight contracts.
The 20-year-old Ukrainian Krylov is 14-0 in MMA with an astounding 14 first-round stoppages in a nine-month span.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Polish fighter Omielanczuk is 15-3 in MMA and has won 11 fights in a row.
HEALY LOSES $130,000 in BONUSES
Not only did Pat Healy get suspended 90 days and have his UFC 159 win over Jim Miller overturned after testing positive for marijuana, but the lightweight lost out on US$130,000 in bonuses.
Healy won $65,000 for Fight of the Night and $65,000 for Submission of the Night but will not see any of that money.
Bantamweight Bryan Caraway, who submitted fellow TUF 14 cast member Johnny Bedford with a guillotine choke at the event, was instead awarded Healy’s submission bonus. Miller will still keep his share of the FOTN bonus.
The UFC announces the winners of fight night bonuses – Knockout/Submission/Fight of the Night – shortly after each event, but the organization holds the cheques until the fighters pass their post-fight drug screenings.
