Two big-time flyweight bouts have been added to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) next fight card in Brazil, as Ian McCall meets Iliarde Santos and John Lineker battles Phil Harris at UFC 163 on Aug. 3, 2013.
Each match up will pit a top-10 ranked 125-pound talent (McCall and Lineker) against a unranked opponent (Santos and Harris) who will be looking to move up at the expensive of the better-known fighter.
UFC officials confirmed both match ups via Twitter on Saturday (June 8, 2013) evening.
Despite being ranked at the No. 3 flyweight contender, McCall (11-4-1) has still yet to register a victory in three trips to the Octagon and hasn't had the feeling of having his hand raised in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition since Aug. 2011.
Santos (27-7-1, 1 NC) will try to continue to take the feeling of victory away from "Uncle Creepy" when he drops down a weight class after losing by first-round knockout to Yuri Alcantara in his promotional debut at UFC on FX 8.
After losing to Louis Gaudinot by submission in his first UFC appearance, Lineker (21-6) will attempt to make it three wins in a row when he competes in his home country for the second consecutive time at UFC 163.
Harris (22-10, 1 NC) will do his best to prevent that from happening, though, when he travels from his home country of England to hostile territory in Brazil.
It is unknown at this time if one, none, or both of these match ups will take place on the preliminary card, which airs on FX and Facebook. The main card can be purchased on pay-per-view (PPV).
UFC 163 goes down from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 3, 2013. The main event of the evening will see featherweight champion Jose Aldo put his title on the line for the fifth time against Anthony Pettis, who moves down from the lightweight division to challenge "Scarface"
For more news and notes on the still-developing UFC 163 fight card click here.