Hot on the heels of a new four-fight deal with the UFC, Vladimir Matyushenko (24-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is expected to meet Jason Brilz (18-3-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at October's UFC 122 event.
Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) that verbal agreements are in place and that both fighters are expected to finalize bout agreements shortly.
While not yet officially announced, UFC 122 is expected to take place Nov. 13 at Konig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany.
No headliner has been announced for the overseas card, which – as MMAjunkie.com first reported – airs via same-day delay on Spike TV in North America.
Both Brilz and Matyushenko look to gain redemption after recent losses.
In his most recent octagon appearance, Brilz stepped up on short notice for the biggest challenge of his career when he faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114. The full-time firefighter and part-time wrestling coach made the most of the opportunity and dominated the former PRIDE star on the mat during the 15-minute encounter.
Although he tired later in the fight, most observers believed Brilz had done enough to eek out a decision victory. It was not to be, though, and Nogueira won the bout on two of three judges' scorecards. The arena's audience was not happy with the split-decision call, to put it mildly.
Brilz, however, thought it was a win-win situation.
"That's what I'm looking at," Brilz earlier told MMAjunkie.com. "It was a lot of fun, actually."
Despite the loss, the Midwesterner is 13-2-1 over his past 16 fights going back to 2002.
Matyushenko just signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC after serving what was one the biggest challenges of his career: a main-event tilt against red-hot prospect Jon Jones earlier this month at UFC on Versus 2. The former UFC contender was a massive underdog going into the fight, though he was expected to test Jones' wrestling. Instead, he was railroaded by the young talent and stopped by TKO in fewer than two minutes.
It was a disappointing turn for the "The Janitor" after back-to-back wins over Igor Pokrajac and Eliot Marshall at UFC 103 and UFC on Versus 1, respectively. Matyushenko, a former IFL champion, rejoined the UFC in the fall of 2009 after a six-year absence from the organization.
For more on UFC 122, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
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