Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 13 winner Tony Ferguson looks to continue his undefeated run through the UFC lightweight division when he makes a trip to the "Garden State" in just over two months to battle the venerable Thiago Tavares at the UFC on Fox 3 event booked for May 5, 2012, live from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ.
Tavares is a late replacement for Dennis Hallman, who according to Tatame.com, was forced to bow out of the pending contest due to injury.
Ferguson (13-2) graduated at the top of his TUF class by beating the brakes off fellow finalist Ramsey Nijem. That set up a jaw-breaking win over Aaron Riley followed by a unanimous decision victory over the always-dangerous Yves Edwards.
Can "El Cucuy" scare up another "W" in Dirty Jersey?
Standing in his way will be Tavares (17-4), who rebounded from a nasty knockout loss to Shane Roller at UFC on Versus 3 last March to win two straight.
After pounding out Spencer Fisher at UFC 134: "Silva vs. Okami" late last year, the Brazilian returned to his native country to outlast Sam Stout via unanimous decision at UFC 142: "Aldo vs. Mendes."
Will he be able to hand Ferguson his first loss inside the Octagon?
UFC on FOX 3 will be headlined by a lightweight fight featuring Jim Miller vs. Nate Diaz. The victor is widely-expected to move on to face the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson II, who compete later this year in a UFC 144 rematch.
For more details on the promotion's return to the FOX network click here.