Nate Quarry vs Jason MacDonald on tap for UFC 97 in Montreal

Jason MacDonald (21-11) will celebrate his tenth appearance inside the Octagon in front of a hometown crowd at UFC 97 from The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on April 18, taking on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum Nate Quarry (10-3) in a middleweight bout.

MMAmania.com today confirmed that "The Athlete" has been added to the card. He joins a bevvy of Canadian talent set to compete during the second-ever show for the promotion to take place north of the United States border.

MacDonald has had a roller coaster ride during his UFC tenure. He has compiled a winning record (5-4); however, he has struggled against several of the top fighters the division has to offer -- Rich Franklin, Yushin Okami, Wilson Gouveia and Demian Maia are notable losses.

He was most recently overwhelmed by the vicious ground and pound of Gouveia at TUF 8 Finale back in December. The American Top Team (ATT) powerhouse smashed MacDonald with brutal elbows, forcing him to tap little more than two minutes into round one.

MacDonald has been unable to gain any traction in the 185-pound division since bursting onto the scene in 2006 with back-to-back submission wins over Ed Herman and Chris Leben. If recent trends are any indication, MacDonald is poised for victory over "The Rock;" however, it won't come easy.

Quarry will return to the scene of the crime in what was one of the most bizarre fights ever against Kalib Starnes back at UFC 83: "St. Pierre vs. Serra 2" in April 2008. He essentially chased the Surrey, British Columbia, native for a majority of the 15-minute bout. Starnes simply refused to engage. It was such a joke that Quarry mocked him inside the Octagon toward the tail end of the fight for playing keep-a-away.

The Starnes fight was just his second after a nearly two-year break from competition to recover from a serious injury that required "spinal fusion" surgery to repair. He stopped Pete Sell via come from behind third round knockout in his return fight. He was then submitted by Maia in short order at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" in November 2008.

It's once again a contrast in styles -- MacDonald has some tricky submissions. Of course, his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills are not on par with a decorated grappler such as Maia, but Quarry -- a heavy-handed power-puncher by trade -- will have to be careful nonetheless.

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