Veteran UFC workhorses Alessio Sakara and Alan Belcher, who have a combined 17 appearances inside the Octagon, are penciled in to duke it out in a middleweight bout at UFC 99 from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on June 13 according to MMAWeekly.
"Legionarius" is coming off a brutal knockout of Joe Vedepo via head kick at UFC Fight Night 15 back in September. It was an eye-opening finish from the heavy-handed former Italian boxer.
Sakara was set to lock horns with Jake Rosholt at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7, 2009, until a late shoulder injury forced him off the card.
The former light heavyweight is currently (2-2) in his last four bouts and the same during his three-year career (4-4, 1 NC) with the UFC. Sakara – who historically struggles against higher-level competition — has been branded a gatekeeper of the division.
That's a title he's probably ready to pass on to Belcher.
"The Talent" is fresh off a comeback victory over PRIDE and Spirit MC standout Denis Kang at UFC 93. Belcher was taking his lumps before Kang got sloppy and ended up in a fight-ending guillotine. It was his fourth win in his last five attempts — a surprising technical knockout loss to newcomer Jason Day at UFC 83: "Serra vs. St. Pierre 2" earlier this year is the only blip during that span.
UFC 99 is expected to be headlined by former middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin taking on ex-PRIDE smashing machine Wanderlei Silva in his middleweight debut. Heath Herring and Cain Velasquez as well as Mike Swick and Ben Saunders are also expected to hook ‘em up.
For more on UFC 99 click here.
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