UFC Fight Night 17: George Sotiropoulos vs Matt Grice

by Jesse Holland on Dec 30, 2008 8:21 PM EST

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 contestant George Sotiropoulos (9-2) will face off against Matt Grice (9-1) at UFC Fight Night 17 'Lauzon vs. Franca' at the University of Southern Florida (USF) Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida on February 7 according to MMAWeekly.

Sotiropoulos was among the pre-show favorites to win TUF 6 until the Australian was derailed by Tommy "The Farmboy" Speer in the semifinals. He bounced back to submit Billy Miles via rear naked choke at TUF 6 Finale in the first round back in December 2007.

After TUF 6 wrapped, Sotiropoulos headed out to New York City to train with his coaches on the program, Matt Serra and Ray Longo at Serra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He followed up with a dominating TKO win over fellow TUF contestant Roman Mitichyan at UFC Fight Night 13 last April.

Now fully healed from an injury suffered earlier in the year, Sotiropoulos will lock horns with "The Wolverine" on the undercard portion of the event.

Grice was on a personal leave from the UFC and hasn't been seen in the Octagon since his battle against Jason Black at last year's UFC 77. The two put on a stellar three-round war that garnered "Fight of the Night" honors and some much deserved buzz about their respective futures.

UFC Fight Night 17 features several 155-pound match ups. Mac Danzig is expected to take on Josh Neer and Joe Lauzon and Hermes Franca are slated to headline the show. Kurt Pellegrino and Rob Emerson will also likely hook ‘em up.

Here is the current UFC Fight Night 17 fight card:

Main event:
155 lbs.: Hermes Franca (19-7) vs. Joe Lauzon (17-4)

Main card:
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (18-5-1) vs. Josh Neer (24-7-1)
155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau (15-6) vs. Rich Clementi (32-13-1)
185 lbs.: Amir Sadollah (1-0) vs. Nick Catone (5-0)
265 lbs.: Cain Velaquez (4-0) vs. Denis Stojnic (5-1)*

Under card:
155 lbs.: George Sotiropolous (9-2) vs. Matt Grice (9-1)
155 lbs.: Kurt Pellegrino (12-4) vs. Rob Emerson (8-6)*
185 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (13-7) vs. Jake Rosholt (5-0)

*Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com.

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Comments

Good to see George back in the Octagon… I always liked him!!

by 1-0 via Arm Triangle on Dec 30, 2008 8:24 PM EST reply actions

Me 2! He should be pretty good at lightweight!

This is a solid card! Look forward to watching Cain fight. Whats up with Josh Neer getting all these big fights?

by john on Dec 31, 2008 7:44 AM EST up reply actions

WOW, it will be very interesting to see George at 155, i think he could be a terror (no pun intended for his coach). He is a taller then average WW but i think his bjj will make quick work of this, sorry for Grice fans, i dont know a whole lot about him other then he is a scrapper, but George has this. Unless he is hit hard cuz he may have a suspect chin.

by ehoglund on Dec 30, 2008 8:34 PM EST reply actions

i live not to far from him. he is a 4 time high school wrestling champ from harrah oklahoma. he was recruited by osu to wrestle in college for john smith. he had injury after injury and never got off. he seems healthy now. other than getting caught in a guilitone in his ufc debut he has done pretty well

by day1er on Dec 30, 2008 10:40 PM EST up reply actions

sorry i was talking about matt grice

by day1er on Dec 30, 2008 10:41 PM EST up reply actions

He might be able to hold off the bjj with his wrestling then, and maybe George is weak from his first time to cut to 155. Who knows, will be an interesting match anyways

by ehoglund on Dec 31, 2008 1:28 AM EST up reply actions

these going to be some good FREE fights.

by trikz on Dec 30, 2008 8:46 PM EST reply actions

I agree, weak main event, but overall good card

by 1-0 via Arm Triangle on Dec 30, 2008 8:51 PM EST up reply actions

yup… weak main event..

by trikz on Dec 30, 2008 8:53 PM EST reply actions

anyone else wanna see batman on the main card, get rich and gleison off, batmans coming off a win and hes a deadly fighter

by Jared on Dec 30, 2008 10:09 PM EST reply actions

I wonder if thats correct. George fights at 170.

by Ground-Game on Dec 30, 2008 11:05 PM EST reply actions

George has mostly fought at 155 for is career. for tuf he went up to 170. I think the drop to LW wil be awesome for him. I see him as more of a factor in the division than dazig. He’s got great bjj, good striking. only wonder about his wrestling. the problem with most guys fighting out of team serra is they dont have good wrestling or takedowns. Its been obvious in serra, luke cummo, and drago. hopefully george has been working on his takedowns. I definately see him taking this fight

by Hughes sux on Dec 30, 2008 11:20 PM EST up reply actions