UFC 136 Main Card gets Jolt with Addition of Garcia-Phan Rematch

With Dave Herman forced to withdraw from his UFC 136 bout against Mike Russow, the long-awaited rematch between featherweight standouts Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan has been bumped to the main card on October 8th in Houston, making this Pay-Per-View event one of the most stacked and action-packed of 2011.

Red Schafer Returns Against Aaron Simpson at UFC® 136 in Houston
With Nick Catone injured, UFC veteran Eric "Red" Schafer has been tapped to return to the Octagon against Aaron Simpson next month. Former light heavyweight Schafer made a successful middleweight debut and will re-test his new weight class against the always-tough Simpson at UFC 136 in Houston.

Grice Injured, Garcia and Phan Get Rematch updated September 7
Matt Grice is out of his scheduled UFC bout on October 8th with Nam Phan due to injury, but Leonard Garcia has quickly stepped in to fill the spot and verbal agreements are in place, confirmed UFC president Dana White today.

Garcia and Phan previously battled to what many considered the most controversial decision of 2010, with Garcia taking home the W at the TUF 12 Finale last December. Their first rematch was postponed due to Phan's injury. Now, they will finally meet once again to settle the score.

It's the second change to the featherweight bout - Grice was originally slated to face Josh Grispi at UFC 136, but Grispi was forced to withdraw, sending Phan into the Houston lineup. 

The Wolf Faces The Damage in H-Town updated August 18
Verbal agreements are in for a third featherweight scrap on the stacked Houston fight card. "China’s best prospect, Tiequan Zhang, makes his return to the Octagon vs. the always-tough Darren Elkins at UFC 136," said UFC president Dana White.

Elkins most recently scored a hard-fought decision over Japanese judoka Michihiro Omigawa. Zhang's last bout was a first-round submission of Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127.

Tickets for UFC 136 may be purchased today using the pre-sale password HOUSTON at ToyotaCenterTickets.com.

Grispi Out, Phan in for Grice at UFC 136 updated August 12
Fresh from his exciting UFC 133 scrap with Mike Brown, The Ultimate Fighter's Nam Phan is back in October, replacing Josh Grispi against always tough Matt Grice.

"Josh Grispi had to withdraw from UFC 136 in Houston, but the always ready Nam Phan is stepping up and taking his place vs Matt Grice on October 8th," said UFC President Dana White. "Both fighters have verbally agreed to the featherweight matchup."

Massenzio and Cantwell to meet in Houston

Mike Massenzio and Steve Cantwell will look to get back to their winning ways this October at UFC 136

“Verbal agreements are in for a middleweight match between two former light heavyweights, Mike ‘The Master of Disaster’ Massenzio and Steve ‘The Robot’ Cantwell at UFC 136 October 8,” said UFC President Dana White.

Beltran to Welcome Newcomer Miocic at UFC 136
Following his impressive third round TKO of Aaron Rosa at UFC 131 in June, "The Mexicutioner," Joey Beltran, will look to spoil the debut of another newcomer, as he has agreed to face off against unbeaten prospect Stipe Miocic in UFC 136 action in Houston on October 8th.

Miocic comes to the UFC with a 6-0 record that includes five knockouts and one submission. A former Division I wrestler for Cleveland State and a Golden Gloves champ, Miocic will be put to the test by the heavy hands, granite chin, and relentless pressure of Beltran,who is 3-2 in his UFC stint thus far.

Wrestlers Catone and Simpson Meet in Houston
Two of the middleweight division's finest wrestlers, New Jersey's Nick Catone and Arizona's Aaron Simpson, will try to keep their winning streaks intact when they meet at UFC 136 on October 8th.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Anthony Pettis at UFC 136 updated July 16
Two of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division will face off as verbal agreements are in for Jeremy "Lil' Heathen" Stephens VS Anthony "Showtime" Pettis at UFC 136, UFC president Dana White confirmed today.

Two Title Fights in Texas This Fall updated July 15
The featherweight world title will be on the line October 8th at UFC 136 in Houston, TX with Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian.

Reigning champion Jose Aldo looks to continue his incredible six-year unbeaten streak and total divisional dominance.

Coming off his featherweight debut in June, KenFlo has already taken out one of the division’s absolute best, Diego Nunes. In his fourth weight class since joining the UFC, Florian is gunning for the pound-for-pound contender. Both fighters have verbally committed to the bout.

UFC President Dana White has also made another title bout official for that same event – Frankie Edgar has verbally agreed to defend his UFC lightweight title against the only man to beat him, as well as the number one contender who held him to a classic draw in January, Gray Maynard. The bout will be the main event at UFC 136 in Houston, Texas on October 8th.

Also on that card, lightweight fan favorites and TUF alumni Joe Lauzon and Melvin Guillard have verbally agreed to meet.

Both men scored blitz first-round wins in the last month - Guillard via
KO over Shane Roller at UFC 132 and Lauzon via kimura over Curt Warburton at UFC Live.

"One way or another, someone is getting hurt,' said Lauzon in a blog post about the matchup.  "I’m sure he will be looking for the knockout bonus, and I will be looking for the submission bonus. This fight is guaranteed excitement."

Maia vs. Santiago in Houston Battle of Brazilians
Fight fans in Texas will get to see two of the
best ground specialists in the world at work in October.

"Two top Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts go to war in order to move back up the middleweight rankings as Jorge Santiago and Demian Maia have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 136 in Houston, TX," said Dana White today.

Heavyweights, Featherweights Booked for UFC 136 updated July 14
21-2 Dave 'Pee Wee' Herman and 14-1 Mike Russow have verbally agreed to a heavyweight showdown at UFC 136 in Houston this fall, confirmed UFC president Dana White today.

Both men are unbeaten inside the Octagon. Herman made his UFC debut in June with a Fight of the Night win over John-Olav Einemo at UFC 131. Russow's most recent victories were a TKO over Jon Madsen and a memorable third-round comeback KO of Todd Duffee.

Also on that card, featherweights Josh Grispi vs Matt Grice have verbally agreed to fight each other.

Sonnen vs. Stann Coming in October updated July 6
At UFC 136 in October, middleweight contender Chael Sonnen will return to the Octagon for the first time since his epic 2010 battle with Anderson Silva to take on the “All-American” Brian Stann in a bout verbally agreed to Wednesday.

Sonnen
was less than two minutes away from defeating Silva and winning the
185-pound title at UFC 117 last August before being submitted by the
champion. Stann is on a 3-0 run at middleweight, with a submission of Mike Massenzio and knockouts of Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago.