All three bouts were announced by the UFC.

Lopez (11-2) is a student of Wanderlei Silva’s who lost his UFC debut to Justin Edwards in 2011. Lopez and Sadollah (5-3) were scheduled to first meet at UFC 143 but both were injured and the fight was cancelled.

McKenzie (12-2) has gone 1-2 in his three UFC fights since appearing on the Ultimate Fighter 12, while Riley (30-13-1) is 3-3 in his last six UFC fights and 3-5 all-time inside the Octagon.

Tavares (7-1) suffered the first loss of his career at UFC 132 to Aaron Simpson. His opponent, Yang (10-2), sports a 1-2 career record with the UFC.

UFC on Fuel 3 takes place from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. The main card airs on FUEL TV, while the prelims will stream on Facebook. The main event is scheduled to see Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung battle to move one step closer to a shot at the featherweight title.

PHOTO CREDIT – Amir Sadollah

The 5-2 Sadollah has won four of his last five bouts including recent victories over Peter Sobotta and DaMarques Johnson after dropping the follow-up fight to his Season 7 submission of C.B. Dollaway in June 2008.

Ludwig will enter the evening with more than 4X Sadollah’s experience after having spent more than a decade in the sport on a journey involving success over notable names like Genki Sudo, Jens Pulver, and Yves Edwards. The 32-year old who happens to celebrate a birthday in August was last seen barely outpointing Nick Osipczak in November at UFC 122, a performance improving his overall record to 20-11 with ten TKOs and six submissions.

In addition to Ludwig vs. Sadollah, the UFC also announced T.J. O’Brien will go for his seventeenth submission victory in seventeen total wins at the event when he faces American Top Team’s Cole Miller who himself has never been tapped out in twenty two professional fights.

Johnson is coming off a first round submission of Mike Guymon in January at UFC Fights for the Troops 2. The victory was his third in four contests including finishes of Brad Blackburn and Edgar Garcia.

TUF 7 winner Sadollah is in a similar position after a successful performance in November and wins in two of his previous three fights. However, all three outings went the distance meaning Sadollah’s only finish in the Octagon thus far came against C.B. Dollaway at the Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale in June 2008.

Set for Seattle and perhaps the biggest in the series to date, Fight Night 24 features rising star Phil Davis putting his undefeated record on the line against PRIDE veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Anthony Johnson making his return to the ring against brash Brit Dan Hardy, a rematch to clear the controversy surrounding Leonard Garcia‘s first fight with Nam Phan, and appearances from talent including John Hathaway, Aaron Simpson, Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres, and Sean McCorkle.

Taking place on January 11 from the Patriot Center in Faitfax, Virginia, UFC Fight Night 20 will be broadcast live on Spike TV with headlining match-ups of Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz along with Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham.

In perhaps the greatest evening of the Xtreme Couture trained fighter’s life, June 21, 2008, Sadollah hit CB Dollaway with a flying armbar to capture the TUF 7 middleweight crown, along with a nice bonus check for “Submission of the Night” honors. Amir’s next outing; not so great, as he was caught with a flurry of punches and stopped early in a bout with Johny Hendricks that took place at UFC 101, before bouncing back with a unanimous decision victory over Phil Baroni at UFC 106.

Blackburn has found his groove since signing with the UFC fresh out of the IFL, winning all three of his bouts in the Octagon over the likes of James Giboo, Ryo Chonan and the heavy handed Edgar Garcia in a back and forth scrap that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

UFC 106

The news of the bout was recently verified by Inside Fights through sources close to both camps.

UFC 106 is scheduled for November 21 from Las Vegas.

Sadollah, the 170 pound winner of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, had been force to withdraw from couple of previous match-ups in the UFC due to injuries, before most recently being TKO’d in the first round by Johny Hendricks during UFC 101.

Baroni sports a career record of 13-11, with a UFC record of 3-5. He recently put together three consecutive wins in smaller promotions before being defeated via decision by Joe Riggs in his last trip to the cage at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields in June.

While nothing has been announced by the UFC at this time, below is a full list of the bouts expected to take place at the event:

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

Mark Coleman vs. Tito Ortiz

Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida

Ricardo Almeida vs. Jon Fitch

Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was the first site to confirm with sources close to Hendricks that he has signed and submitted his bout agreement. A source close to Sadollah has indicated that he has verbally agreed to the bout and that a signed and submitted bout agreement is considered a formality.

Sadollah, 1-0, had never fought pro before being selected to compete on the seventh season of TUF. En route to winning the show’s middleweight championship, Sadollah successfully defeated Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, and C.B. Dollaway (twice).

The New York native had been scheduled to fight Nick Catone at UFC 91 in November and UFC Fight Night 17 in February but was forced to withdraw both times due to injury.

No one can accuse the UFC of coddling Sadollah in his return, as Hendricks was an All-American wrestler while at Oklahoma State University and is 5-0 since making his pro MMA debut in September of 2007.

Recently transferred from the WEC’s welterweight division, Hendricks went 2-0 under the WEC banner with wins over Justin Haskins at WEC 37 last December and Alex Serdyukov at WEC 39 in March. Soon after Hendricks’ decision victory over Serdyukov, WEC officials designated the bout as the event’s “Fight of the Night.”

The 25-year old Hendricks joins fellow OSU alum Jake Rosholt as the second member of Ehrhardt’s Team Takedown to make it to the UFC.

UFC 101 will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA at the Wachovia Center. In addtion to Sadollah vs. Hendricks, the event will be headlined by UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn defending his title vs. Kenny Florian. A light heavyweight bout between Forrest Griffin and Thiago Silva is slated for the show as well.

Sadollah made the revelation during a commercial insert that aired during last night’s premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. During the “Late Night News Presented by Burger King” segment, Sadollah interviewed TUF 1 light heavyweight winner Forrest Griffin.

At the end of the segment, Sadollah gave an update on his own status, confirming that he was forced to withdraw from a UFC Fight Night 17 bout in Feb. vs. Nick Catone after breaking his clavicle. He had previously been scheduled to fight Catone at UFC 91 this past November, but was also scratched from the card due to injury. Sadollah also reaffirmed during the segment that he will be dropping to welterweight but did not indicate who his opponent would be.

UFC 101 will be an opportune time for Sadollah to make his return. Born in New York, Sadollah spent his teens growing up in Virginia, where he trained at the Combat Sports Center under Brian Crenshaw. Sadollah’s East Coast roots could make him a substantial ticket seller for the Philadelphia show, which is expected to emanate from the Wachovia Center.

In addition to Sadollah’s appearance on the show, UFC 101 is expected to be headlined by UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn defending his title vs. number one contender Kenny Florian.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has also confirmed through a source close to Sadollah speaking on the condition of anonymity that the matchup has indeed been finalized.

Catone and Sadollah had been slated to compete against each other during the main card of UFC 91 earlier this month but the bout was canceled just days before the event due as a result of Sadollah suffering from an infection to his foot.

Both Sadollah and Catone have fighting roots on the East Coast with Sadollah having made a name for himself as an amateur while a part of Team Combat at the Combat Sports Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Meanwhile, Catone has fought for two major regional promotions on the East Coast and currently trains out of UFC middleweight Ricardo Almeida’s gym in New Jersey.

Sadollah had never fought pro before being selected to compete on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he successfully defeated Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, and C.B. Dollaway (twice) en route to becoming the winner of the show’s middleweight tournament.

According to iGuillotine, the Feb. 7 event will take place at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas. A lightweight matchup between Mac Danzig and Josh Neer has also been reported for the show.

According to UFC.com, Sadollah was forced to pull out of the fight due to a leg infection. Despite an exhaustive search, a replacement was not able to be secured and a decision was made to take Catone off the card in addition to Sadollah.

Originally set to be a 10-bout event, UFC 91 is now slated to be a nine match card with a welterweight encounter between Dustin Hazelett and Tamdan McCrory being promoted from the non-televised preliminary card to the televised undercard.

Hazelett vs. McCrory joins fights involving UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar, Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson, Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks, and Nate Quarry vs. Demian Maia as bouts guaranteed to be televised during Saturday’s pay-per-view telecast.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com

Bout agreements between Catone and Sadollah have not been signed but could be finalized by early next week.

Both Sadollah and Catone have fighting roots on the East Coast with Sadollah having made a name for himself as an amateur while a part of Team Combat at the Combat Sports Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Meanwhile, Catone has fought for two major regional promotions on the East Coast and currently trains out of UFC middleweight Ricardo Almeida’s gym in New Jersey.

Sadollah had never fought pro before being selected to compete on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he successfully defeated Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, and C.B. Dollaway (twice) en route to becoming the winner of the show’s middleweight tournament.

If the bout is signed, it would mark Catone’s debut in the UFC. He is 5-0, according to Sherdog’s fight finder, with his last four victories have been early stoppages in the first round. He most recently competed for Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat on June 27, where he recorded a first round TKO over Erik Tavares.

So far only two bouts have officially been announced for UFC 91 with Randy Couture defending the UFC heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar and a lightweight encounter between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson.

(Pictured: Nick Catone slamming John Howard)

After intermission, Sadollah was introduced to the crowd, where he received a strong hometown reception as well as some playful taunts. While addressing the audience on the microphone, Sadollah revealed that he expects his next fight for the UFC to take place at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Portland, Oregon.

Sadollah said he did not yet know his opponent but that he expected to receive notification from the UFC shortly.

He was in town to corner several of his former Team Combat teammates such as kickboxing standout Francois Ambag and featherweight Dwayne “Diesel” Shelton, who earned a unanimous decision victory over Sedico Honorio during the night’s main event.

Before entering TUF, Sadollah compiled a 4-0 amateur record training out of Team Combat and was also one of 52 fighters to qualify for the now-defunct IFL’s 2007 draft during a tryout in Chicago.

Sadollah instead made the cut for TUF and despite having no pro fights to his credit, he successfully defeated Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, and C.B. Dalloway en route to becoming the winner of season seven.

One question Sadollah did answer for certain though is which weight class he’ll be fighting at.

I’ll be fighting at middleweight. I will not be dropping to 170,” said Sadollah.

Sadollah has also moved from Virginia to Las Vegas to train at – where else – Xtreme Couture.

Sadollah has a tremendous amount of potential. During the Ultimate Fighter, he showed great submission skill and a propensity to finish his fights. That being said, Sadollah only has two official fights (both against Dalloway). Hopefully, the UFC takes their time with Sadollah and allows him the necessary time to develop.

World Championship Fighting has announced that UFC president Dana White will be appearing on its next card on February 8 in Wilmington, Massachusetts at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium.

The show will be headlined by former UFC fighter Dan Lauzon, who will be taking on Team Renzo Gracie fighter Andrew Calandrelli.

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The 16-fight card will take place at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass. and will also feature matches between Mike Varner vs. Randy Rowe, Seth Davis vs. Mike Curtis, Phil Gizzi vs. Jarod Tirrel, and more.

Special guests at the show are expected to include Kenny Florian, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Jorge Rivera, Sean Gannon, and Mark Della Grotte.

For more info, go to WCFighting.com.