The recently announced UFC on FUEL TV 9: "Gustafsson vs. Mousasi" fight card is quickly filling up with match ups as a lightweight affair between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 12 finalist Michael Johnson and Reza Madadi will take place at the April. 6, 2013, event in Stockholm, Sweden.
News of the bout was passed along by Swedish website MMnytt. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) officials have yet to confirm the report.
Johnson (12-7) is coming off an upset loss to Myles Jury at UFC 155: "Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2" last December. The defeat ended Johnson's three-fight win-streak and killed a nice wave of momentum he had coming into 2013. The 26-year-old was dominated in the grappling department by Jury and will attempt to prove he will not make the same mistake twice against Madadi.
"The Menace" is 4-2 since his stint on TUF and has never lost two-straight bouts in nearly three years under the UFC banner.
Madadi (12-3) was arguably robbed of a victory in his sophomore UFC appearance last October when he was on the wrong side of a split decision to Cristiano Marcello at UFC 153: "Silva vs. Bonnar" in Brazil. Prior to the defeat, "Mad Dog" had strung together seven victories in a row, including a submission win over Yoislandy Izquierdo in his Octagon debut.
The 26-year-old specializes in the ground game, having won seven fights by submission. He will certainly put Johnson's defensive skills on the mat to the test.
It is unknown at this time if Johnson vs. Madadi will air on the main card, which airs on FUEL TV, or the preliminary portion of the card, which is likely to stream on Facebook.
UFC on FUEL TV 9: "Gustafsson vs. Mousasi" goes down April 9, 2013 from the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The event headliner will see Alexander Gustafsson return to compete in his home country against former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, who makes his UFC debut at the event.