Former Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 contestant James McSweeney (4-5) will return to the Octagon in front of a hometown crowd when he clashes with fellow Brit Tom Blackledge (10-6) at the upcoming UFC 120 event scheduled for October 16 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
McSweeney confirmed the bout via his official Twitter account late yesterday evening.
"The Hammer" will be heading to light heavyweight after mixed results in the 265-pound division. Despite looking good early in the season, his TUF hopes were derailed by Roy Nelson and his dreaded-belly crucifix in the semifinals of the Spike TV reality show.
He was called back to compete in the TUF 10 Finale and put a hurtin' on fellow cast mate Darrill Schoonover, stopping "The Boss" via third round technical knockout. Unfortunately McSweeney was unable to replicate that success against Travis Browne, falling to the undefeated "Hapa" on the undercard of the June 19 TUF 11 Finale.
Now he's hoping to be lighter, quicker and more successful at 205-pounds.
Standing in his way is Blackledge, whose mixed martial arts career dates back nearly ten years as a competitor on the European circuit.
Aside from his role as assistant coach on TUF 10, the Wolfslair product enjoyed a perfect 2009 fight campaign, submitting Tatsuya Mizuno at the M-1 Challenge in April before knocking out Enoch Solves Torres with a brutal head kick just a few months later, also under the M-1 banner.
A big debut against McSweeney will go a long way in establishing his place in the promotion's light heavyweight division.
UFC 120 will feature a main event between Michael "The Count" Bisping taking on Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama while Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy battles Carlos "Natural Born Killer" Condit.
For more on the Oct. 16 fight card click here.
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