The ink is now dry on a couple of contracts written up for the upcoming season finale of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 12, as the UFC today announced Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac and Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia for Dec. 4 in Las Vegas.
Bonnar (12-7), treading water after posting three consecutive losses, was able to get back into the win column with an emphatic win over fellow TUF veteran Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110: "Nogueira vs. Velasquez" earlier this year.
"The American Psycho" earned "Fight of the Night" with his stoppage of "The Polish Experiment" and could slowly start to re-establish his presence in the UFC's light heavyweight division with another impressive performance in "Sin City" this December.
Standing in his way is Pokrajac (22-7), who also rebounded from consecutive losses when he choked out free-falling veteran James Irvin at the UFC on Versus 2 event last month in San Diego.
It was his first win under the UFC banner after racking up eight straight W's overseas. No question that stopping Bonnar could be a one-way ticket to bigger and better things in 2011.
After posting three straight wins to start his UFC career, Kendall Grove (12-7) fell victim to inconsistency over the past couple of years, going 4-4 over the span of eight fights.
The Hawaiian was planished by Mark Munoz at UFC 112: "Invincible" earlier this year, but was able to rebound with a much-needed win over Goran Reljic, a split decision at UFC 116: "Lesnar vs. Carwin" back on July 3.
"Da Spyder" has never been short on talent, but by his own admission has battled with issues both inside and outside the cage. He'll need to be at 100-percent to overcome the crafty Maia, despite having a tremendous size and reach advantage.
Like Grove, the Brazilian was electric right out of the gate, stringing together consecutive victories following his Octagon debut -- until Nate Marquardt turned him inside out at UFC 102: "Couture vs Nogueira" back in 2009.
Maia would sandwich decision wins over Dan Miller and Mario Miranda around his memorable loss to Anderson Silva in Abu Dhabi last April.
Finishing Grove may be the catalyst to getting him back into title contention.
TUF 12 Finale will feature the top two finalists from this season going head-to-head for a "six-figure" contract and the right to be called "Ultimate Fighter." Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on the upcoming season finale as it becomes available.
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