The UFC will be returning to the HP Pavilion in San Jose on April 20th for UFC on FOX 7 and the organization has announced the main and co-main event for the fight card.
UFC officials announced on Tuesday that the main event will be Benson Henderson defending the UFC lightweight title against Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.
In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will take on Strikeforce Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament winner Daniel Cormier.
Tickets for the fight card are not currently on sale and the UFC is expected to release ticket information in the coming weeks.
Henderson (18-2) has won all six of his UFC fights and became the UFC lightweight champion at UFC 144 last year when he defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision. He would end up having an immediate rematch against Edgar, which he won a controversial split decision. His last title defense came at UFC on FOX 5 against Nate Diaz and he dominated the fight to get a unanimous decision victory.
“Gilbert Melendez is one of the toughest fighters on the planet,” Henderson said. “I’ve said over and over that I just want to fight the best in the world. I don’t care in what order I face them, but I want to fight the best in the biggest fights. He has been the Strikeforce Lightweight champion, and is going to be real hungry in his first UFC fight.”
Melendez (21-2) is currently on a seven fight winning streak and has been dealing with a shoulder injury over the past couple of months. He is considered one of the top lightweight fighters in the world and has stated since UFC on FOX 5, that he wanted his first fight in the UFC to be against Henderson.
Mir (16-6) is coming off a lost to Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 last year, which he entered the fight on a three fight winning streak. He was scheduled to face Cormier at a Strikeforce event in November, but he had to pull out of the fight with a knee injury.
Cormier (11-0) started his career in Strikeforce and won the heavyweight tournament last year after being a replacement for Alistair Overeem in the semifinals. He defeated Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the semifinals by knockout and defeated Josh Barnett in the final. He took part in the final Strikeforce fight card last weekend and scored a dominating TKO victory over Dion Staring.
UFC on FOX 7 will take place on April 20th from the HP Pavilion in San Jose and stay tuned to TheMMAReport.com for updates on this UFC fight card.