See you in "Music City."
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently announced a pair of upcoming bouts for its UFC on FX network debut, which is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20, 2012, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports brought word of the date and location back on Wednesday.
The FX card has already lined up a heavyweight battle between Pat Barry and Christian Morecraft as well as a welterweight slugfest that pits Josh Neer against Duane Ludwig.
Barry (6-4) is coming off back-to-back losses to Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve. The stocky and cocky kickboxer may not be on the chopping block just yet, but a third consecutive loss certainly won't do him any favors, either.
Matt Mitrione entered the "World of Morecraft" and left with a knockout win back at UFC on Versus 4, dropping Morecraft (7-2) to just 1-2 inside the Octagon. A loss in "HD" and it's likely curtains on his Zuffa career.
Also fighting for a spot on the roster -- albeit a much higher one -- is Josh Neer (32-10-1). The welterweight "Dentist" has strung together five straight wins, all of them stoppages, including a technical knockout finish over Keith Wisniewski just last month.
He'll get his favorite type of opponent after the new year, someone who likes to stand and "Bang," as Duane Ludwig (21-11) is riding high after outperforming Nick Osipczak and Amir Sadollah in recent bouts.
Four tough competitors, two great fights.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on the UFC on FX debut, which is part of the promotion's seven year, $100 million broadcast agreement with the FOX network, as they become available.