A welterweight matchup between world class grapplers Demian Maia and Jake Shields is being targeted for UFC Fight Night 29 on Oct.9 in Brazil.
The matchup, which was first reported by Combate, will serve as the main event for the event at the Ginasio Poliesportivo Jose Correa in Barueri, according to MMAFighting.
Maia (18-4) was slated to fight Josh Koscheck at UFC 163 on Aug. 3 in Rio de Janeiro, however Koscheck was forced to withdraw from the bout injured and the UFC decided to remove Maia from the card entirely.
The former No. 1 middleweight contender is 3-0 since dropping to the 170-pound division with wins over Dong Hyun Kim, Rick Story and Jon Fitch.
Shields (28-6-1, 1 NC) is coming off a controversial split decision win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 in Winnipeg. Shields, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, is 3-2 in the UFC welterweight division; he also picked up a decision win over Ed Herman in a UFC 150 middleweight tilt, but that was overturned and changed to a no contest after Shields failed his post-fight drug screening.
In the co-main event, Brazilian standout Erick Silva meets Dong Hyun Kim and Jeremy Stephens takes on TUF Brazil 1 winner Rony Jason on the main card.
UFC adds a Mongoose
The UFC has signed Darrell Montague, one of the best flyweights in MMA, and he’ll make his promotional debut against John Dodson at UFC 166 on Oct. 19 in Houston.
Montague (13-2) is a former Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champ and has won four in a row and 10 of his last 11. His only loss while competing at 125 pounds came at the hands of current UFC contender Ian McCall in August 2011.
The 25-year-old’s latest win was a submission of Jesse Miramontes on May 18 at a local event in Ontario, Calif.
Dodson (14-6) looks to bounce back from a unanimous decision loss to UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in January.
UFC releases its first woman
German bantamweight Sheila Gaff is the first woman to be released by the UFC following back-to-back TKO losses to Sara McMann and Amanda Nunes at UFC 159 and UFC 163, respectively.
The German website GroundandPound.de reported the news, but as of Tuesday evening Gaff’s fighter bio was still visible on UFC.ca.
Guillard vs. Pearson added to Manchester card
Melvin Guillard will travel to England to fight TUF 9 lightweight winner Ross Pearson in a dynamic lightweight matchup on Oct. 26 in Manchester.
Guillard (31–12–2, 1 NC) is coming off a Knockout of the Night win over TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig on July 27.
Pearson (15-6) is 2-0 since moving back up to the lightweight division following a 1-1 stint at featherweight. He picked up TKO wins over Ryan Couture and George Sotiropoulos in his last two bouts.
Lauzon pulls off “Showtime Choke”
Watch Joe Lauzon’s latest video blog “Showtime Choke” as he jumps off the cage in order to secure a triangle choke in a training session.
