News of the match-up was reported by the UFC.

Escudero, the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champ, is currently on his second stint with the UFC. After being cut in late 2010 Escudero posted a 5-1 mark to earn another chance inside the Octagon. However, he came up short in his return, falling by decision to Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141.

Danzig lost to Matt Wiman this past October in a bout that earned “Fight of the Night” honors. He is 20-9 in his career, but just 4-5 in the UFC and 2-2 in his past four. On his Twitter account, Danzig confirmed the bout, posting, “Just signed to fight in March. Opponent is tough as hell, but they all are. Efrain Escudero, March 24, Montreal.”

UFC 145 takes place March 24 from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. No main event for the show has been designated to date but the lineup is set to include appearances from regional stars like Mark Bocek, Rory MacDonald, and Mark Hominick.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The Arizona native had his hands full against area product Mike Rio who lived up to his regional hype by displaying a well-rounded attack often matching or exceeding Escudero’s own. However, in the end Escudero was able to outpoint the previously unbeaten Rio by winning the bulk of their exchanges and improved his overall record to 17-3 in the process.

The 11-2 McCorkle’s performance in the cage was far more aesthetically pleasing as fans of “Big Sexy” might have already suspected would be the case. The outspoken heavyweight knocked opponent Cameron Befort down early, then jumped on him to secure a fight-finishing Kimura a little more than a minute into their main event match-up.

Also notable at the event, Strikeforce veteran Francisco France was knocked out in the second stanza by Danny Babcock, while a number of up-and-comers kept their perfect records intact including Christopher Garcia, Yoislandy Izquierdo, Trent McCown, and Patrick Cenoble.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the transaction was made public in an official release from the promotion, as well as confirmed by Escudero himself on his website.

“I have made my move and signed a contract with Shine Fighting Promotions and will be making my debut in the near future. I want to thank all the organizations both small and huge from all over the world who expressed interest in me but after meeting with my managers and my team and having time on my own to think about it we determined this was my best choice for my career at this point,” said Escudero of the move.

“I want to thank the fans first and foremost for sticking with me throughout all of the obstacles that have been thrown my way and for those who never lost faith in me,” he continued. “Now we got a new home and we are coming to be the top fighter there and prove it to the world. It’s time to take care of business like I know I can!!!”

Shine Fights recently gained notoriety for a single-night, lightweight tournament the organization held in September with Drew Fickett eventually emerging as the last man standing.

Escudero is 13-2 in his career but fallen by way of submission in two of his last three bouts. In addition to having won TUF 8, his most-notable career victory came at UFC 103 when he delivered a first-round TKO against Cole Miller.

The 24-year old made headlines at the weigh-in for the event by registering in at 159 pounds on the scale and turning the previously scheduled 155-pound bout into a catch-weight affair. In the end, the size advantage made little difference, and Escudero was tapped-out by a standing rear-naked choke in the fight’s third round.

After starting out his career with twelve straight wins Escudero has since dropped two of his last three fights. His most notable win inside the Octagon came by way of first-round TKO against Cole Miller at UFC 103 in September 2009.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 champion, who will be fighting Charles Oliveira in the event’s co-headlining bout, not only came in heavy for the bout but significantly so. Escudero clocked in at 159 pounds and was penalized 20% of his salary as a result. Comparably, Oliveira registered in at 154 pounds, so the fight will also be contested as a “catch-weight” affair based on Escudero’s flub.

Meanwhile, middleweights Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares both measured in at 186 pounds for their main-event match-up. The 29-9-2 Marquardt will be looking to bounce back from a decision loss to top 185-pound contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 109 last February when he squares off against his submission-savvy adversary at the show. Palhares is currently on a three-fight win streak and won his last pair of Octagon appearances by way of heel-hook. He has submitted eight of the thirteen opponents he’s faced and is 11-2 overall in his career.

Here is a complete rundown of “Fight Night 22” results:

Tomasz Drwal (185.5 lbs) vs. Dave Branch (186 lbs)
Brian Foster (170.5 lbs) vs. Forrest Petz (170 lbs)
David Mitchell (170.5 lbs) vs. Anthony Waldburger (171 lbs)
Rich Attonito (185 lbs) vs. Rafael Natal (186 lbs)
Jared Hamman (205 lbs) vs. Kyle Kingsbury (206 lbs)
Yves Edwards (155 lbs) vs. John Gunderson (156 lbs)
Cole Miller (156 lbs) vs. Ross Pearson (156 lbs)
Jim Miller (155.5 lbs) vs. Gleison Tibau (154 lbs)
Efrain Escudero (159 lbs) vs. Charles Oliveira (154 lbs)*
Nate Marquardt (186 lbs) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186 lbs)

* – Escudero will give 20% of his purse to Oliveira for coming in heavy

Sporting an unblemished record of 13-0 during his professional career in mixed martial arts, Escudero is widely viewed as the golden boy of the UFC’s 155 pound division. The lightweight winner of the eighth season of Spike TV‘s The Ultimate Fighter, Efrain recently complimented his TUF championship in a UFC 103 mugging of American Top Team’s Cole Miller.

While Dunham hasn’t had nearly as much spotlight time as Escudero up to this point in his career, the Xtreme Couture trained submission specialist has quietly built himself up an impressive 9-0 resume, with recent UFC victories over the Per Eklund and Marcus Aurelio.

As the saying goes, “Someone’s 0 has got to go”, and only one of these two fast rising lightweight prospects will walk away undefeated this evening.

FiveOuncesofPain.com recently had the chance to catch up with both fighters just prior to their Fight Night showdown tonight, and needless to say, both Dunham and Escudero possess the utmost respect for one another.

“Evan Dunham is undefeated for a reason,” explained Efrain in this exclusive conversation with Five Ounces. “He goes out there to put on a show, and just fights. We have studied his tapes, but there’s not much to study. He’s a southpaw with a big right hand. There’s not much to him. He has a strong right and he’s an Oregon State wrestling champion, and that’s it.”

Dunham shared Escudero’s sentiments in many ways when 5 Oz. had the opportunity to gather his thoughts on the match-up.

“I think Efrain’s a talented guy, and he’s obviously pretty tough,” said Dunham. “I never really watched the show he was on because it’s on when I’m usually training, but I’ve seen a couple of those fights and he’s a tough kid. He’s got good wrestling, and he seems like he’s got a good all around knowledge of the game. In my opinion, he’s just your typical good wrestler that turned to MMA, he’s got some good submissions and he wings the punches. If he catches you with a good punch in the right spot you’re going to be in trouble, but there’s nothing that I have seen on any of his tapes or have heard from any of the guys he has trained with that had me changing any part of my game plan or anything like that.”

You’ll get no argument from either combatant as to whether or not their foe this evening is worthy of standing on the other side of the Octagon as them, and furthermore, both fighters can also agree on the fact that they contain a mutual respect for one another. However, all of that respect will be left outside of the Octagon fencing in Fairfax, Virginia. Yet another topic the similar styled up and comers can to see eye to eye on.

“I respect Evan as a person and I respect him as a fighter, but when we step into the Octagon only one man will leave the cage undefeated, and the other guy is going home with a loss,” said Escudero.

Giving an almost identical response to an unrelated question during our conversation was Dunham, stating, “Efrain has to be respected, and that’s exactly what I do. I always respect my opponents enough to train my ass off, but as soon as we’re standing across from one another in the Octagon, all of that respect goes out the door.”

The scouting reports on the pair are almost identical: Both guys are solid wrestlers with technical submission games, and both possess heavy hands. So what gives between the two? According to Efrain it will come down to his ability to take the fight anywhere he’d like.

“I think one of my major advantages is going to be that people don’t know what my game plan is,” explained Escudero. “I can take him down or I can knock him out. I’ve trained my wrestling to have it at a peak point. We saw in Rashad Evans’ last fight with Thiago Silva: His wrestling was the dominant factor in that bout.”

When told about Efrain’s belief that his wrestling ability would enable him to control the action in this evening’s bout, Dunham respectfully agreed to disagree with that statement, saying, “I don’t think so. If it was straight wrestling and we were both wearing singlets in the middle of a circled mat, and we touch our hands and go for the takedown, then yeah, he’d probably beat me in a wrestling match. But as far as wrestling goes in MMA, I don’t think he is because you have to add in the punches, the knees, and everything.

“I think that people that aren’t that familiar with my past fights think that he’s going to have a big advantage in the wrestling department, but anyone that has seen me fight before aren’t ruling me out by any means. I don’t think I’m the underdog in this fight, but I think that some people do. There are definitely a lot more people that have been exposed to him because of his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter, but I think that’s all it is. Some might think that he’s going to have the upper hand, but I know otherwise.”

Either way you slice it, both of these undefeated crowd pleasers are unquestionably overflowing with confidence heading into a match-up that promises to separate the contender, from the pretender.

“I’ve pushed myself to the limit preparing for this fight and I doubt that Evan Dunham can put me in situations I haven’t been in before,” said Escudero in closing.

“I’m going to be comfortable wherever this fight goes,” finished Dunham. “If he wants to stand with me: Cool, we’ll stand. If he wants to take the fight to the ground and he’s actually successful in getting it to the ground: Even better. I know my Jiu-Jitsu is better than he is, and also, I’d like to see him try to hold me down, because I really don’t see that happening.”

Both fighters have agreed to the bout according to a report on MMAFanhouse.com.

The event is expected to take place in Fairfax, Virginia on January 11 and airing live on Spike TV.

Escudero is the lightweight winner of the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter and sports an undefeated record of 12-0. The Tempe, Arizona native put up a personal benchmark performance in his last bout when he knocked Cole Miller senseless in the first round at UFC 103.

Lentz trains out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and holds a career record of 17-3-1. “The Carny” hasn’t seen a defeat in his last nine bouts that include a draw to Kyle Jensen and wins over the likes of Drew Fickett and Rafaello Oliviera.

A lightweight battle between Efrain Escudero and Nick Lentz is on tap for UFC Fight Night 20.

Both fighters have agreed to the bout according to a report on MMAFanhouse.com.

The event is expected to take place in Fairfax, Virginia on January 11 and airing live on Spike TV.

Escudero is the lightweight winner of the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter and sports an undefeated record of 12-0. The Tempe, Arizona native put up a personal benchmark performance in his last bout when he knocked Cole Miller senseless in the first round at UFC 103.

Lentz trains out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and holds a career record of 17-3-1. “The Carny” hasn’t seen a defeat in his last nine bouts that include a draw to Kyle Jensen and wins over the likes of Drew Fickett and Rafaello Oliviera.

Escudero and Miller are expected to lock horns at UFC 103 which has been rumored for September 26 in the U.K.

Sources close to Escudero recently confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that the extremely talented lightweight is packing his bags in preparation for a trip to Miami, Florida where he will train with his former coach from The Ultimate Fighter, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and his identical brother Antônio Rogério Nogueira in their newly opened gym leading up to his showdown with Miller.

Escudero, a former All-American level wrestler out of Pima Community College, will likely spend plenty of his time with the Nogueira’s sharpening up his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game while preparing for his first bout with the UFC since his victory over Phillipe Nover at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in December of 2006.

Cole Miller is highly regarded for his strong submission game and his most recent appearance in the octagon was a first round guillotine choke submission over fellow TUF cast member to Escudero, Junie Browning in April.

Make sure to check back with FiveOuncesOfPain.com in the coming days as our very own David Andrest will give you an inside view of the Nogueira brother’s brand new gym in Miami, Florida.

Escudero is claiming that his opponent will be Cole Miller, who improved to 15-3 after recording a first round submission over Junie Browning at UFC Fight Night 18 earlier this month. Neither the UFC or Miller has confirmed the possible bout vs. Escudero.

Escudero, the lightweight winner of the eight season of The Ultimate Fighter, had been slated to appear on the same card as the Miller vs. Browning bout. However, he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout vs. Jeremy Stephens after suffering an injury while training.

A former NJCAA All-American wrestler, Escudero has not competed since winning the 155 pound TUF 8 finals during the show’s live season finale held in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. Facing Phillipe Nover, Escudero took the lightweight crown courtesy of a unanimous decision.

Miller trains out of American Top Team and is a veteran from the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He is currently 4-1 while competing under the UFC banner and in addition to Browning also holds notable wins over Jorge Gurgel, Andy Wang, and Leonard Garcia.

Sources have revealed exclusively to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that Escudero, 11-0, has signed on to face Jeremy Stephens at an upcoming UFC event. It’s believed that the fight will take place during a UFC Fight Night event in April that will precede the season premiere for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Escudero, a former NJCAA All-American wrestler, won the 155 pound TUF 8 finals during the show’s live season finale held in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. Facing Phillipe Nover, Escudero took the TUF 8 lightweight crown courtesy of a unanimous decision.

Stephens, 14-3, holds a lifetime record of 3-2 in the UFC and is coming off a win against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 91 this past November. The Iowa native registered one of the most impressive knockouts of the year when he finished dos Anjos at 0:39 of round 3 when he landed a massive uppercut from an extended distance.

Stephens’ prior wins in the Octagon have come against Cole Miller and Diego Saraiva with his two losses coming against Din Thomas and Spencer Fisher.

World Extreme Cagefighting’s official website confirmed the bout.

Baker (6-0) was rumored to take on fellow undefeated middleweight prospect, Nissen Osterneck  at the event but Osterneck had to pull out with injury. Baker has gone 2-0 so far in the WEC with a first round TKO victory over Jesse Forbes and a split decision win over Eric Schambari in December.

Chael Sonnen (19-9-1) had been scheduled to rematch WEC middleweight champion,  Paulo Filho on March 26th but that match was scratched after Filho pulled out citing depression and chemical dependence which resulted in the Brazilian checking himself into a rehab facility. Sonnen’s last fight was a controversial submission loss to the middleweight champion.

WEC 33 will take place in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be headlined by a light-heavyweight championship bout between current WEC light-heavyweight champion, Doug Marshall and undefeated, Brian Stann.

Read more WEC 33 content  on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

The following is the full card for WEC 33: Filho vs. Sonnen 2:

• Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (WEC Middleweight Championship)
• Doug Marshall vs. Brian Stann (WEC Light Heavyweight Championship)
• Brock Larson vs. John Alessio
• Marcus Hicks vs. Ed Ratcliff
• Rich Crunkilton vs. Sergio Gomez
• Bryan Baker vs. Logan Clark 
• Kenji Osawa vs. Chris Manuel
• Alex Serdyukov vs. Ryan Stonitch 
• Tim McKenzie vs. Steve Cantwell
• Hiromitsu Miura vs. Blas Avena

Check out more WEC 33 content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

Despite announcing this week that he was pulling out of a March 26 WEC middleweight title defense versus Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho will put the belt up after all, the Brazilian’s manager, Ed Soares, informed Sherdog.com Thursday afternoon.

“He went through some personal issues, and he basically pulled everything together,” Soares said.