Marcus Aurelio vs. Ryan Roberts UFC Fight Night 13 bout confirmed

by MMAmania.com on Mar 21, 2008 10:04 AM EDT

Ryan Roberts (8-2) -- not Jim Miller as previously reported — will fill-in for the injured Spencer Fisher and fight Marcus Aurelio (15-5) at UFC Fight Night 13 at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colo., on April 2, according to UFC.com.

Miller, according to a separate report from FiveOuncesOfPain.com, was approached about taking the fight; however, he is currently under contract with the International Fight League (IFL), making an appearance in the Octagon in less than two all but impossible.

Roberts –- who will be making his UFC debut – is a veteran of the Victory Fighting Championships promotion and other smaller shows. He is on a two-fight win streak, outpointing Joe Doherty on all three judges scorecards in his most recent appearance in February 2008.

Aurelio — a former standout in Pride FC and who trains with the prestigious American Top Team camp — will look to return to begin his road back to top form against Roberts.

He has uncharacteristically dropped three of his last four bouts — albeit to top-level competion such as Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi and Mitsuhiro Ishida. "Maximus" will look to build on his most recent win against Luke Caudillo via first round technical knockout at UFC 78: "Validation."

Fisher suffered a shoulder injury training for his upcoming bout, which forced the Miletich-trained fighter to withdraw from the lightweight contest.

For the latest UFC Fight Night 13 fight card, which will be a three-hour SpikeTV extravaganza that begins at 7 p.m. ET, click here. It's going to be a fantastic night of fights.

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Too bad, I really wanted to see Jim Miller inside the octagon. Darn IFL.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Mar 21, 2008 10:06 AM EDT reply actions

Mania, u beat me to the punch. I was just about to post this news. I dont know anything about Ryan Roberts, so I dont have much to offer to this discussion.

by john on Mar 21, 2008 10:14 AM EDT reply actions

Ryan Roberts is a brawler who loves to ground and pound. He has a wrestling background. He wrestled for the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Ryan Roberts is the 145lb Champ for the VFC (Victory Fighting Championships). Note: Roberts lost (got dominated) to Alonzo Martinez (VFC’s 155lb Champ). Martinez has beat Luke Caudillo twice. Marcus Aurelio beat Caudillo back in November. If the UFC was going to pick a lightweight fighter out of the VFC, it should have been Alonzo Martinez. Expect Roberts to come out with a bunch of wild punches and then use his wrestling to try to get Aurelio to the ground. (That is normally how his fights go) I don’t see Roberts winning this. The UFC should sign Martinez and have him face Roberts for Roberts’ 2nd fight.

by Luckyhands on Mar 22, 2008 4:08 PM EDT reply actions