Hermes Franca will face off against TUF veteran Joe Lauzon in the main event of the next installment of UFC Fight Night which will take place in Tampa, Florida on February 7. The event will be the 17th installment of the popular Free UFC cards that are broadcast live on Spike TV, and the card for this event looks especially strong.
In other action TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig will make his return to the Octagon following a disappointing loss to Clay Guida and face off against the gritty “Dentist” Josh Neer who is coming off a split-decision loss to TUF 6 winner Nate Diaz.
In heavyweight action Cain Valasquez will try to keep his undefeated record alive against the relatively unknown UFC newcomer Denis “The Menace” Stojnic. Valasquez has been involved in heated negotiations with Dana White and the UFC in recent months and it will be interesting to see how he responds considering he is considered one of the brightest young heavyweights to appear in the UFC in quite some time.
There will be plenty of TUF talent on the card as TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah will make his return to the Octagon following an impressive victory over CB Dollaway and battle UFC newbie Nick Catone. This fight was scheduled to take place on a previous UFC but an injury to the upstart UFC fighter forced the fight to be rescheduled.
In other action Gleison Tibau will face veteran fighter Rich Clementi in what is expected to be an undercard bout.