The match-up is set to headline the Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale on June 1.

“There’s a lot at stake for the guys competing on this card at the Palms,” added White on the event in an official press release announcing the impact of Ellenberger vs. Kampmann on contendership.

Ellenberger is currently on a six-fight winning streak including back-to-back bouts with Jake Shields and most recently Diego Sanchez. He holds an overall record of 27-5 with his only loss inside the Octagon coming to Carlos Condit, who interestingly enough could very well be champion if/when Ellenberger’s title-shot finally materializes.

Though Kampmann hasn’t strung together as many consecutive wins as Ellenberger, losing decisions to Shields/Sanchez in recent bouts, he’s coming off a pair of impressive instances of success against Rick Story and Thiago Alves. “The Hitman” is 19-5 in his career with fourteen finishes including an even split between submissions/TKOs.

The welterweight title is currently in limbo while Georges St. Pierre recovers from knee surgery after which he’ll face Condit, the interim champion. If GSP is not healthy before year’s end it is likely Condit will instead face Ellenberger-Kampmann with the gold up for grabs.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Ellenberger has been one of the hottest fighters in all of the UFC, winning six straight fights since a Split Decision loss to current interim champion Carlos Condit. The 26-year old recently capped his streak off by outpointing Diego Sanchez last month. Other fighters “The Juggernaut” has earned wins over include Jake Shields, Sean Pierson, Carlos Eduardo Rocha, John Howard, and Mike Pyle. Four of those six victories have come by way of strike-based stoppage.

Comparably, Kampmann has won two straight since back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sanchez and Shields, earning a decision over Rick Story and a come-from-behind submission against Thiago Alves earlier this month. “The Hitman” is 4-2 in six fights since 2010.

Their bout is set to takes place from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. So far, Kampmann-Ellenberger is the only official bout aon the card outside of the finales in TUF’s lightweight tournament.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

With less than a minute remaining in the final round of their fight Kampmann latched on to a Guillotine Choke to procure the stoppage, avoiding the judges’ as he’d hoped and likely a loss as well based on Alves’ earlier efforts.

“I was behind there, I’ll be honest,” said Kampmann in an interview with the UFC shortly after earning the victory. “Thiago was giving some good shots. I wanted to take him down and I was walking into too many punches even though that was not part of the strategy at all.”

“Good thing I still got a good chin, I can eat some shots,” he continued. “I was getting him back. I shook him in the first round with that kick but I knew I probably had to finish him in that third round…so I grabbed on to that choke for dear life and squeezed him.”

Kampmann improved his overall record to 19-5 with the victory, evening up his submission/TKO ratio at seven apiece in the process, while Alves’ career mark was dropped to 19-9 with four losses by way of submission.

Check out the complete interview below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

“I’m gonna try and pick him apart. I’m gonna stay away from those bombs. Sometimes I have a habit to start slugging it out a little bit but not this fight,” said the 29-year old Dane in an interview with the UFC. “He’s got good combinations…he’s real good standing. He’s definitely technical as well and I think it’s gonna make for a great fight.”

Also possibly playing a role in Kampmann’s strategy could be the fact three of his five total losses have come as the result of a TKO while Alves has only suffered a single strike-based stoppage in his career.

Alves-Kampmann will serve as the main event of the show, slated to start on FX at 9:00 PM EST with prelims on Facebook/Fuel TV firing up approximately three hours earlier.

Check out the comments from Kampmann as well as Alves’ response below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Alves (24-7) is a former contender to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Most recently “The Pitbull” stopped Papy Abedi with a first round submission at UFC 138, helping get himself back on track after losses in three of his previous four bouts.

Kampmann (18-5) was last seen barely outpointing Rick Story at UFC 139. Prior to the victory “The Hitman” had dropped two straight decisions at the hands of Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields, keeping him from avoiding the chopping block, as well.

“The UFC is thrilled to return to Sydney for its third live event in three years,” said Marshall Zelaznik, managing director of UFC’s international development division. “Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann are two seasoned mixed martial artists who are sure to go to war in the Octagon. I’ve got no doubt that our Aussie fans will be just as excited about our March event, especially as they’ll witness UFC history with the introduction of the flyweight division.”

Along with Alves-Kampmann, the first two matches in the UFC’s flyweight tournament will take place on the card, as Demetrious Johnson meets Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez takes on Yasuhiro Urushitani. More fights and an official announcement concerning the FX card are expected by the UFC in the coming weeks.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

There is no location or venue planned for the second card on FX Network, and the Alves-Kampmann bout is the first announced fight.

Alves (19-8) rebounded from a loss to Rick Story at UFC 130 back in May to stop undefeated newcomer Papy Abedi with a Rear-Naked Choke in the first round. Since challenging UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre for the belt in 2009 “The Pitbull” has gone just 2-2 inside the Octagon and hasn’t nearly been the finishing machine he was once perceived as.

Kampmann (18-5) put an end to a two-fight losing skid by earning a decision victory over Story at UFC 139 earlier this month. “The Hitman” had suffered decision defeats to Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields prior to the win against Story.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the match-up was first reported by MMAWeekly with Alves also publicly discussing the potential bout.

Kampmann is less than a week removed from his hotly-contested clash with Rick Story at UFC 139 where he came away with a Split Decision victory. The well-rounded Dane improved his overall record to 18-5 with the win, adding to past success against the likes of Paulo Thiago and Carlos Condit.

Comparably, the 19-8 Alves beat debuting Judoka Papy Abedi at UFC 138 by picking up the second submission win of his career with the finish coming in the opening round of action. The performance marked the first stoppage for “Pitbull” in more than three years after a stretch featuring five in a row including wins over Karo Parisyan, Chris Lytle, and Matt Hughes.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Kampmann, who meets Rick Story this Saturday night at UFC 139 in San Jose, California, has dropped decisions to Diego Sanchez and Jake Shields. Prior to those defeats, Kampmann had gone 4-1, including a win over Carlos Condit.

Now, with the prospects of possibly being cut from the premier MMA organization, Kampmann is looking to build off a win over Story this coming weekend.

“It sucks to have two losses on paper. Especially my last fight, I thought I won. I beat the snot out of Diego. It sucks to be on the wrong side of a decision,” said Kampmann, in a recent interview with UFC’s website. “(As for possibly being cut) I try not to focus on that. I don’t want to put more pressure on myself.”

Kampmann has enjoyed his life outside of Octagon over the past eight months, as his wife gave birth to a son, Xander. “I spend my spare time with him. I love it. It’s the greatest experience ever. You can’t describe it.”

Come Saturday night, however, a different Kampmann will be on display than the one Xander sees around home.

“I’m going to knock him out or submit him,” Kampmann said. “I don’t want a judges’ decision. I just want to finish the fight and get a win.”

Fans can catch Kampmann vs. Story on the UFC 139 PPV when it starts at 9:00 PM EST with preliminary pairings being show earlier on Spike TV and streaming through Facebook.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The UFC reported the match-up earlier today through their website.

Five Ounces of Pain spoke to Kampmann who, when asked about the upcoming scrap, responded, “He’s a tough wrestler with a great chin, it should make for a exciting fight.”

Story had a six-fight winning streak snapped in June after taking a fight against Nate Marquardt on short notice only to have Marquardt replaced at the last second by Charlie Brenneman due to abnormally high testosterone levels. Prior to the defeat the 26-year old had racked up victories over Johny Hendricks, Dustin Hazelett, and Nick Osipczak, as well as in an all-out war against Thiago Alves a month before his lackluster showing at UFC Live 4.

“The Hitman” is also on the heels of a disappointing result at a UFC Live event, albeit a defeat he endured in a less-decisive fashion. Kampmann battered Diego Sanchez for the bulk of their bout last March only to have the judges award his opponent the win on the scorecards. Kampmann holds an overall record of 17-5 with thirteen finishes including six submissions and seven TKOs.

UFC 139 is scheduled to take place in San Jose and will feature Rafael dos Anjos vs. Gleison Tibau, Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman, and Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

One of the select few the Dane sees as a good fit for next assignment is Jon Fitch, a former title-contender in a situation similar to Kampmann’s who has also expressed interest in the two talented 170ers throwing down in the near future.

Kampmann recently discussed Fitch in an interview with Fighters where he gave his opinion on the potential of a pugilistic encounter with the 23-3-1 American Kickboxing Academy staple.

“I heard that he wanted to fight me, so that could be an exciting fight,” began Kampmann. “I’m coming off of two losses, even though they were both very close fights, but definitely a win over Fitch would put me right back on top. That would be a great opportunity and he’s a very tough opponent – he’s a grinder, he takes people down, wears them out, and those are tough guys to fight. I think anybody can be beat and so can Fitch. It would make for an interesting match-up for sure.”

Like the 29-year old, Fitch is coming off a semi-questionable result with a Draw against B.J. Penn in his last Octagon appearance. Also relatable to Kampmann’s current circumstances, while Fitch pleaded for another crack at the popular Penn he watched his rematch slip away with Carlos Condit sliding into a spot opposite “The Prodigy”.

“I just want to go in there and beat somebody up. Obviously it’s always nice if I can get a name opponent that would help me get back on the right track,” Kampmann continued on the topic of Fitch.

However, just because the thought of taking on a well-known adversary is appealing to the Dane doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to take on all-comers, saying the most important thing to him is erasing the memory of his decision loss to Sanchez.

“I would always rather get the win. I’m there to win, I hate losing more than anything,” Kampmann concluded.

The Xtreme Couture original is 17-5 in his career with UFC wins over Paulo Thiago and Condit as well as a number of notable victories in the promotion as a middleweight. He has a near-even split between submission and strike-based stoppages while never having been tapped out himself.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The 17-5 Kampmann recently spoke to MMATraining about his current situation where he updated fans on a troublesome knee and also shared a few opinions pertaining to his memorable decision defeat to Diego Sanchez in March at UFC Live 3.

“Second time around I’m not going to let it go to a decision – I’m going to finish him,” said Kampmann of his former opponent. “I respect him. He’s a tough guy, a tough fighter, but I thought he was saying some stupid things on Twitter. He was hitting me up on his Twitter after the fight. I thought I won the fight and he thought he won it…that’s how it is…but he was hitting me up, being kind of a smartass and that kind of pissed me off so I just replied to his Tweets. I might have called him a b*tch…I have to go look at it. If I called him a b*tch, he probably had it coming.”

While Sanchez is set to scrap with welterweight icon Matt Hughes in September, thus leaving their rivalry to continue brewing through the popular social networking outlet, Kampmann was scheduled to come back last month against John Howard at UFC Live 6 but aggravated a past injury while training for the fight and was forced to withdraw.

“I hurt my knee. I’ve had a lot of surgeries, three surgeries done on my knee before, so it’s a little withered and I hurt it again,” explained the 29-year old without offering a specific timetable on his return to the ring. “I’m back in training now, but there’s still some stuff that I can’t do, so that’s where I have to be careful. I’m training now, it’s still bothering me some, but it’s still a lot better from where it was a month ago…It’s not one-hundred percent yet, but it’s definitely feeling a lot better.”

Kampmann holds a number of impressive wins prior to his recent stumbles including triumphs in the UFC over Jorge Rivera, Thales Leites, Paulo Thiago, and Carlos Condit. Also notable is the fact he’s yet to be submitted in twenty-two professional appearances.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The organization announced the change to UFC Live 4 late Monday night through their website where it was also revealed Daniel Roberts will fill the vacancy Brown’s departure created opposite Attonito.

In addition to already being a guaranteed slugfest given their similarly fearless styles, Brown and Howard will be fighting for more than a paycheck when they clash on June 26 with both men coming off consecutive losses including a trio of defeats in the case of Brown. However, prior to their recent slides each had strung together a series of victories including five straight finishes combined.

The Skrap Pack’s Roberts was last seen coming out on the wrong end of a decision to Claude Patrick at UFC 129 but had won three straight entering the record-breaking event and holds an overall record of 12-2.

UFC Live 4 is headlined by Nate Marquardt mixing it up with Rick Story and features main card offerings like Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo and Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The UFC announced the match-up earlier today.

Kampmann was on a roll in the welterweight division, winning four out of five bouts before dropping a highly competitive and close split decision to current #1 contender Jake Shields back at UFC 121. After the loss to Shields, Kampmann would be on the wrong side of another controversial decision this past March when he lost to Diego Sanchez in a bout that won Fight of the Night honors.

Howard has dropped two straight of his own, first losing to Jake Ellenberger at UFC Live 1 via doctor’s stoppage after his eye had completely swollen shut in the third round. Most recently, Howard was out performed by former 170 title challenger Thiago Alves at UFC 124 but managed to make it to the judges scorecards, where Alves was declared the winner.

The UFC’s return to the Versus Network is scheduled for June 26 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also scheduled for the event is a heavyweight slugfest between the hard hitting Cheick Kongo and the charismatic Pat Barry as well as Tyson Griffin making his 145 debut against former title challenger Manny Gamburyan.

It now appears that wish for additional action from the two talented welterweights has been answered…sort of.

Kampmann, who has lobbied for an immediate re-pairing with Sanchez based on the result, recently drew the attention of “The Dream” via Twitter who responded with not only a hint of mild surprise but also a clear message for the Dane – win a fight first and then maybe they can talk.

“You really want a direct rematch? I trained no boxing! Zero! I just wrestled my ass off,” Sanchez began. “I underestimated your takedown defense and had to resort to my street-fighting loco skills and almost dropped you; I seen your legs. I was not in my best shape.”

Further arguing his case against taking on “The Hitman” a second straight time, Sanchez brought up the fact he hadn’t even asked to fight Jon Fitch after losing a Split Decision while continuing, “Plus you just lost two in a row. You need to get a W (and) then we can talk rematch. Your punches had snap to cut but no power.”

“Almost dropped me??? Nah, as far as I remember you where the only one that got dropped. Wise up,” Kampmann quickly responded.

Likewise, the original Ultimate Fighter winner also denied being damaged beyond superficial wounds in the fight, replying, “Watch it again. I got hit off balance while jumping in for a hook! (It) in no way dazed me not at all. If I can’t get a better fight (where) a win would move me up the ladder, I would love to fight you again!”

In closing Kampmann kept it simple, saying, “Let’s make it happen then,” before boarding a plane to head to Canada.

Sanchez also showed some respect to his newfound rival before moving on, acknowledging, “If we fight again it will be an even better fight. If it happens it happens you’re always a fun fight.”

Kampmann is 17-5 in his career and had lost a Split Decision to top contender Jake Shields last October. Prior to the defeat he had won two in a row with past victories over Paulo Thiago and Carlos Condit to his credit.

Comparably, Sanchez holds an overall record of 23-4 and has put together back-to-back victories including Kampmann and Thiago. He has also found success in the Octagon against respected foes including Ken Florian, Clay Guida, and Strikeforce welterweight title-holder Nick Diaz.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Former WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles earned “Submission of the Night” and $40,000 after putting Damacio Page to sleep using a Guillotine Choke with ninety seconds remaining in the opening round of their UFC Live 3 showdown. Interestingly enough, not only did the 30-year old defeat Page using the same technique at WEC 35 but both finishes came at the exact same mark. The win was the first in a year for Bowles after losing his title to Dominick Cruz at WEC 47 and subsequently being sidelined with injury as a result.

Fellow WEC alumnus Shane Roller also pocketed $40,000 for “Knockout of the Night”. Roller withstood an impressive assault from opponent Thiago Tavares in the first round of their fight but came back sharply in the second stanza with a straight right resulting in the end of the Brazilian’s night. The victory brought Roller’s win column to double digits as his overall record now stands at 10-3.

Finally, though the headlining tilt between Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez may have resulted in a debatable decision one thing impossible to argue is the level of entertainment both welterweights provided in the evening’s final fight. The two talented 170-pounders battled for three hotly-contested rounds seeing Sanchez bruised and bloodied with Kampmann also leaking crimson and nursing a possible broken hand. Their mutual performances in Sanchez’s razor-thin win netted each man $60,000 for participation in “Fight of the Night”.

UPDATE:: Yahoo Sports is reporting Dana White decided to throw an extra $100,000 on top of the $60,000 award as a means of honoring the gutsy performance both turned in.

Sanchez spoke about his journey back to Albuquerque earlier today in a conference call with media where he discussed his newfound love of training, the reason he’s shedding his long-time nickname, and how far down he’d actually sunk after losing in such a clear-cut fashion to B.J. Penn at UFC 107.

“I went through a really rough situation in San Diego that brought me into a lot of emotional depression and that weighed hard on me, and the Penn fight was really hard for me the way I lost – getting cut up, getting hands put on me the way I did,” Sanchez explained of his motivation in moving back to New Mexico. “That never happened to me in my career. So, I had to deal with that and when I came home I moved out of the city and I moved into the mountains and that was the best thing I ever did.”

“I hit rock bottom after the Penn fight, I really did. I blew through all my money. I made bad decisions. Scam artists scammed me real bad. I was in debt over $175,000. I had to come back home. I needed my family’s love. I was humbled 100% back down to zero. I have no ego.”

In reference to his loss to John Hathaway, Sanchez replied he was still in a funk even drinking beer after training and didn’t take the Brit seriously at all. Crediting the isolation with restoring his focus on the sport rather than its trappings, Sanchez also made it clear he’s done cutting down to compete as a lightweight.

“The options are closed for me to ever go down to 155 again,” the 22-4 fighter began on the topic. “I brought in an Olympic wrestler and he’s a big 185 pounder and about an inch taller than me. He’s real big on lifting weights and so we go and we lift weights every day after practice. And we hit it hard…I’m doing power lifts, I’m doing squats, I’m doing kettle lifts…and that’s on top our (regular) training.

“It’s really motivated me to be strong,” Sanchez continued. “In my last fight I was really prepared, I worked hard, but I wasn’t physically strong and that’s something you’ve got to have being a welterweight. That’s something I’ve really worked on and I think fans are going to be surprised when they see the way I look, the way I feel…and the way I’m able to (assert) my will with my physical strength.”

Due to his newfound approach to life and interest in putting the past behind him Sanchez also explained his decision to drop “Nightmare” as his nickname, saying in retrospect he was his own “nightmare”.

“I don’t want to represent that. I want to represent positivity and good…the nightmare was myself. All of the times I fell off track and got into drinking and into smoking weed…the things that brought me down, the partying. That was my nightmare, I was my own nightmare, so you know I said, ‘I’m growing up. I’m gonna let that name go and I just want to be Diego Sanchez. I’m me and that’s it.”

On top of the popular Ultimate Fighter winner’s clash with well-rounded XTreme Couture competitor Kampmann, fans can also catch decorated amateur wrestlers C.B. Dollaway and Mark Munoz mix it up in main card action at “UFC on Versus: Sanchez vs. Kampmann”. The show will go live on Versus at 8:00 PM EST.

News of the bout was reported by MMAJunkie who confirmed the potential pairing with a source close to the involved individuals.

The match-up should prove an interesting one if it does indeed come together. Neither Kampmann or Sanchez have been submitted in the ring while both also possess a respectable balance between tap-out/TKO victories on their respective records.

Sanchez is 22-4 overall with notable wins in the past over Paulo Thiago, Ken Florian, Nick Diaz, Clay Guida, and Joe Stevenson. He is 1-1 since returning to welterweight after a run at the UFC 155-pound championship, a title-bout loss against B.J. Penn also marking the only time “Nightmare” has been finished in his career.

His XTreme Couture-trained opponent will be looking to right the proverbial ship against Sanchez, as “The Hitman” is coming off a split decision loss to former Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields at UFC 121. Prior to the outpointing, Kampmann had gone 13-2 over his previous fifteen fights including wins over Thiago, Thales Leites, Jorge Rivera, and Carlos Condit.

Dana White Discusses his Initial Meeting with Fedor Emelianenko (Versus.com)

UFC and THQ Extend Partnership for “Undisputed” Title (MMAConvert.com)

Martin Kampmann is Ready to Expose Jake Shields in the Ring (Heavy.com)

Claude Patrick Not Happy with UFC 120 Win (FIGHT! Magazine)

Joe Rogan Does His Best Mauro Renallo Impersonation (MMAScraps.com)

Mike Pyle Talks About Handing John Hatahway his First Career Loss (WatchKalibRun.com)

Chris Horodecki Could Be Fighting Donald Cerrone at WEC 53 (CagePotato.com)

Josh Barnett has a Message for Fabricio Werdum (MiddleEasy.com)

Tito Ortiz Talks Health, No Longer Drinking (MMAFighting.com)

According to reports on MMAJunkie.com, both fighters have verbally agreed to the match-up, although no contract agreements have been finalized.

Kampmann will be looking to get himself back into title contention after a disappointing loss to UFC newcomer Paul Daley. Kampmann had previous wins over Carlos Condit and Alexandre Barros since moving down from middleweight to welterweight.

Markham will also be trying to get back in the winners circle after suffering a KO at the hands of British slugger, Dan Hardy. The Miletich fighter has only fought twice in the octagon, taking home a KO victory at UFC Fight Night 14, in his debut.

Although not officially announced, UFC 108 is expected to be held on January 2nd 2010 with a rumored headline bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

Many experts rationalized that Kampmann would have a decisive edge in this match-up due to his considerably more dangerous ground attack. Surprisingly, outside of a single takedown attempt early on, Kampmann was more than willing to trade with Daley, and it was this willingness to trade that ended up costing him  the bout.

After stunning Kampmann with a big right hand, Daley swarmed the Xtreme Couture trained fighter with a vicious assault of punches that forced the referee to call a halt to the contest just midway throught the opening frame.