The bout, along with the date and venue, were announced by UFC president Dana White on his Twitter account.

Miller was just in action this past Friday when he submitted Melvin Guillard in the main event of the first ever UFC on FX show. The win got Miller back on track after he dropped a unanimous decision to current top lightweight contender Ben Henderson last August. The New Jersey native has won eight of his last nine bouts, which includes victories over Charles Oliveira, Mark Bocek, Gleison Tibau, Josh Neer, and Mac Danzig. Miller has only lost three times in 24 professional bouts, all by way of decision.

After struggling in the UFC welterweight division, Diaz dropped back down to 155 this past September and turned in one of the best performances of his career, submitting Takanori Gomi in the first round of their UFC 135 contest. The younger Diaz brother followed that up with a unanimous decision win over Donald Cerrone in a war that earned the pair Fight of the Night honors, which was his eighth event bonus in 14 UFC bouts.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

“When I fight, I’m mad. I’m starving, I had to make weight, I trained my ass off, and I’m there to entertain,” said Diaz, in a recent interview with UFC’s website. “I’m just trying to do what I gotta do. Some people are out there trying to be the nicest guy, but I feel like a lot of that is frontin’. When you see me on camera, I’ve got to fight another person, and I’m not gonna put on a front.”

Diaz, coming off a submission victory over Takanori Gomi earlier this year, will try to halt the runaway train that is Cerrone when the two square off tomorrow evening. The two have had some heated exchanges but, to Diaz, that’s all part of the process even if he actually respects his adversary.

For example, at yesterday’s pre-fight press conference, Diaz removed Cerrone’s trademark cowboy hat during a staredown between the two, yet in reference to his opponent Diaz explained, “He’s actually one of the guys who likes to fight in the UFC, compared to people who like to wrestle and jump around, point scoring and doing all that funny stuff.”

Catch Diaz-Cerrone as part of a card headlined by heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem when the PPV fires up at 10:00 PM EST. Other bouts scheduled for the lineup include Alexander Gustafsson-Vladimir Matyushenko and Jon Fitch-Johny Hendricks.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Diaz, who has won just two of his last four fights, will be trying to slow down the freight-train that is the “Cowboy.” Cerrone is on a current six-fight win streak that includes three submission wins and a TKO.

As far as Diaz, a student under Cesar Gracie who trains with his talented brother, Nick Diaz, and former champion Jake Shields, none of that matters.

“I feel like I’m better than all the guys in my division (155 pounds),” said the younger Diaz in a UFC interview promoting the upcoming event. “He is definitely a guy that likes to fight, but I think I’m better than him everywhere, honestly.”

Diaz has been involved in four “Fight of the Nights” during his time in the UFC, while Cerrone has one under the UFC banner and five while competing in the WEC. Diaz won his last bout over Takanori Gomi in his return to lightweight after competing as a welterweight for several years.

The main event of UFC 141 will feature Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar in a five-round war to become the #1 contender in the UFC’s heavyweight ranks.

Watch Diaz/Cerrone talk about their bout in the UFC 141 Preview starting about six minutes into the video:

The show is set for Friday, December 30 rather than on Saturday due to New Year’s Eve and will emanate from Las Vegas. Adding even more intrigue to the headliner, the winner will earn a title shot against UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos in 2012 after the affable Brazilian recovers from knee surgery.

“This is my home. The UFC is Brock Lesnar. I don’t care how many fights he’s had or where his career has been. This is my time. This is my house,” explained a motivated Lesnar in a recently released extended preview for the event.

Along with Lesnar-Overeem, fearless lightweights Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone will meet in the co-main event.

Watch all four fighters talk about their upcoming match-ups in the UFC 141 Preview below:

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

According to the UFC, Nate Diaz will look to build on his opening round finish of Takanori Gomi at UFC 135 when he faces streaking scrapper Donald Cerrone in co-headlining action at the New Year’s Eve Weekend event.

Diaz’s September success snapped a two-fight skid as a welterweight prompting his return to 155 pounds where he holds past victories over Kurt Pellegrino and Melvin Guillard. The 26-year old holds an overall record of 14-7 with thirteen finishes while only having himself been stopped a single time.

“Cowboy” should be ready to put that statistic to the test when they link up in Las Vegas with his ongoing six fight winning streak featuring three submissions and a TKO. Cerrone is coming off a Rear-Naked Choke of former contender Dennis Siver this past weekend. Equally impressive, Cerrone has already fought four times in 2011 meaning a win over Diaz would mark his fifth of the year.

UFC 141 is headlined by Brock Lesnar locking horns with K-1/Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem and will also feature Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao, Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson, and Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The UFC announced the pairing late Monday night through their Twitter account.

Diaz has fallen in back-to-back bouts and is 5-5 in his last ten in-ring appearances meaning the importance of a victory over Gomi goes far beyond familial history. The 26-year old TUF 5 winner holds an overall record of 13-7 in his career including success against a number of notable opponents such as Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Neer, and Melvin Guillard.

The 32-7 Gomi is also in need of a win after being submitted in two of his three fights since signing on with the UFC after a storied run in the Land of the Rising Sun. Gomi first came to fans’ attention in PRIDE where he took out the likes of Jens Pulver, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Mitsuhiro Ishida, and Tatsuya Kawajiri. “The Fireball Kid” has finished eighteen of the thirty-two foes he’s beaten with twelve of the victories coming by way of TKO.

In addition to Gomi vs. Diaz, the UFC 135 lineup features Jon Jones’ putting his belt up against former 205-pound champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on the card, as well as a fight between Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez plus action from Travis Browne, Mark Hunt, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, and others.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Joining them come April 30 on the 8:00 PM EST broadcast will be Jake Ellenberger and Sean Pierson who are also set for a showdown in Toronto.

Diaz was last seen in January being outpointed by Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 125 after having won back-to-back bouts entering the event. He is 8-4 in the Octagon with impressive wins over Marcus Davis, Kurt Pellegrino, and Melvin Guillard.

Comparably, MacDonald is only 1-1 since joining the UFC and most recently drew the unfavorable task of facing Carlos Condit a little less than a year ago at UFC 115. The resulting loss was the first in eleven professional appearances after going 10-0 with finishes in every bout.

Not originally scheduled to face off at UFC 129, their prelim peers Pierson and Ellenberger are both currently riding positive streaks and six and three respectively. The 23-5 Ellenberger, who was a late replacement for Brian Foster, notched TKO wins over John Howard and Mike Pyle in 2010 while Toronto native Pierson (11-4) debuted in successful fashion at UFC 124 in December with a Unanimous Decision over Matt Riddle.

No word has surfaced on whether or the UFC’s Facebook page will host any fights though, were they to do so, possibilities include Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts, Charlie Valencia vs. Ivan Menjivar, and Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen.

Lightweight champ Frank Edgar will defend his strap against the only individual to beat him, Gray Maynard, in the evening’s main event. Edgar lost a unanimous decision to Maynard in April 2008 before going on to win six straight bouts including two consecutive wins over former title-holder BJ Penn. Comparably, Maynard has won five fights in a row over a list of opponents featuring Nate Diaz, Roger Huerta, and most recently Ken Florian.

Also scheduled to see action on January 1st, 2011 in Las Vegas, Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson will settle their personal differences in the cage and help sort out the heavyweight contendership picture in the process. “Big Country” recently poked fun at Carwin’s alleged involvement in a steroid distribution ring with Carwin responding by taking verbal jabs at Nelson’s physique.

In addition to Edgar vs. Maynard II and Nelson vs. Carwin, the other “UFC 125 – Resolution” match-ups confirmed by the company are as follows:

Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann

Nate Diaz Addresses Steroids as Only He Can (WatchKalibRun.com)

Kyra Gracie Goes Sans Gi for Magazine Cover (MiddleEasy.com)

Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II Looking Likely for UFC 125 (Heavy.com)

Cooking with Miguel Torres? You Bet! (Versus.com)

M-1 Global Announces Upcoming Scheduled of Title Fights (FIGHT! Magazine)

WEC Contender Anthony Pettis Makes his MTV Debut (MMAScraps.com)

News on Joachim Hansen’s Next Fight (CagePotato.com)

Vitor Belfort Could Be Facing Anderson Silva on Superbowl Weekend (MMAConvert.com)

K-1 World Grand Prix Fighters Gather in Seoul (MMAFighting.com)

News of the bonus was announced at the post-event press conference.

Also earning sixty thousand dollars for their performances at UFC 118 were welterweights Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis. Their main card scrap, which featured bloody brawling and a last-minute finish by Diaz, was labeled the show’s “Fight of the Night”.

Understandably, no “Knockout of the Night” was named as the card did not feature a single separation from consciousness (at least by strikes).

The bout, scheduled for January 11th 2010 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA, has been confirmed through the Gracie camp via Graciefighter.com.

Diaz is coming off a submission victory over Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight Night 19 last month, ending a two fight-losing streak. The Gracie Jiu-Jitsu brown belt had won his previous five fights over such notables as Josh Neer and Kurt Pelligrino.

Maynard, who was also on TUF 5, is coming off a decision victory over Roger Huerta in Semptember. The Xtreme Couture fighter has won all six UFC appearances, since getting a no-contest at the TUF finale against Rob Emerson. “The Bully” has been climbing up the lightweight ranks and should be close to a title shot should he defeat Diaz.

The two are no strangers to each other in the cage, as they met head on during the semi-finals while both were on the Spike reality show back in 2007. Diaz beat Maynard by way of guillotine choke in the second round before eventually winning the finale against Manny Gambaryan.

A lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Melvin Guillard has been officially announced as the main event for UFC Fight Night 19.

The event is scheduled to take place on September 16 from Oklahoma City.

Also announced for the card is a lightweight showdown between Gray Maynard and Roger Huerta. The bout will mark the last in Huerta’s UFC contract as he expects to spend more time focusing on his career in show business.

Diaz will be looking to bounce back from his recent unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Joe Stevenson at The Ultimate Fighter Finale and a prior decision defeat to Clay Guida at UFC 94. Diaz could very well find himself in a must win situation in regards to remaining with the UFC on September.

While Diaz is coming back from two consecutive defeats in the octagon, Guillard will be looking to make it three straight in Oklahoma. His prior two appearances in the UFC saw him knocking off Dennis Siver and Gleison Tibau.

The UFC has yet to officially announce the matchup but MMAjunkie.com has confirmed the fight with sources close to the bout. MMAMadness.com was the first site to report of the matchup’s possibility.

Both Diaz and Stevenson will look to rebound from recent losses during the TUF 9 finale at the Pearl at the Palm in Las Vegas.

Stevenson, the welterweight winner of TUF season two, suffered his second consecutive defeat last month at UFC 95 in London, England. Facing TUF 1 middleweight winner Diego Sanchez’s in what was Sanchez’s first-ever bout at 155 pounds, Stevenson lost a unanimous decision. The defeat dropped his record to 29-10 and served as his third loss in his last four fights.

Diaz was the lightweight winner from the fifth season of TUF and suffered his first-ever defeat in the Octagon during January’s UFC 94 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Diaz’s perfect 5-0 lifetime record in the UFC was spoiled by Clay Guida following Guida’s split decision victory over him. The loss reduced Diaz’s record to 10-3.

In addition to Diaz vs. Stevenson, the June 20 finale will also feature the lightweight and welterweight finals from the upcoming season of TUF as well as a welterweight matchup between Anthony Johnson and John Howard.

The UFC has yet to officially announce the bout, however, the news comes courtesy of GraceFighter.com, a website owned and operated by Diaz’s manager and trainer, Cesar Gracie.

Diaz and Guida were originally expected to fight during a UFC event in December but the fight never materialized due to a foot injury sustained by Guida during a unanimous decision victory against Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. Like Diaz, Danzig is also a former winner of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

The victory improved Guida’s record to 24-9 and cemented his standing as one of the UFC’s most highly regarded fighters. Thanks in large part to his relentless style of fighting, the 27-year old Chicago native holds notable victories in his career against Josh Thomson, Bart Palaszewski, and Marcus Aurelio.

Diaz, the younger brother of EliteXC lightweight competitor Nick Diaz, has not fought since a split decision victory over Josh Neer at UFN 15. The victory moved the 24-year old’s record to 10-2 overall with his record in the UFC improving to 5-0.

A jiu-jitsu brown belt under Gracie, Diaz has defeated Manny Gamburyan, Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, and Kurt Pellegrino in addition to Neer during his year and a half tenure in the UFC.

UFC 94 will be headlined by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defending his title against reigning UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn. Additionally, light heavyweight bouts between Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva and Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones are scheduled as well.

Main Card -

• Nate Diaz def. Josh Neer via split decision
• Clay Guida def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision
• Alan Belcher def. Ed Herman via split decision
• Eric Schafer def. Houston Alexander via submission (arm triangle) at 4:53 of round one

Preliminary Card:

• Alessio Sakara def. Joe Vedepo via TKO at 1:27 of round one
• Wilson Gouveia def. Ryan Jensen via submission (armbar) at 2:04 of round two
• Joe Lauzon def. Kyle Bradley via TKO at 1:34 of round two
• Jason Brilz def. Brad Morris via TKO at 2:54 of round two
• Mike Massenzio def. Drew McFedries via submission (Kimura) at 1:28 of round one
• Dan Miller def. Rob Kimmons via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:27 of round one

Nate Diaz (9-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is the brother of supremely talented problem-child Nick Diaz. Not only do they share a distaste for “mean-muggin”, but a true aptitude for submission fighting. Nate is a brown belt under Cesar Gracie in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but definitely operates at a black belt level as 7 of his 9 professional wins are from submissions. He defeated Manny Gamburyan in the finale of the Ultimate Fighter season 5 when Gamburyan separated his shoulder and had to concede the victory even though most perceived that Gamburyan was winning the fight. Since winning the ultimate fighter in somewhat controversial fashion, Diaz seems to exhibit a desire to prove his legitimacy in each of his fights. As a result, Diaz has capped off a 4 fight winning streak inside the UFC with a stunning come-from-behind victory over a very tough and underrated Kurt Pellegrino by triangle choke. With his middle-finger laden win Diaz has served notice that he is a threat to everyone in the lightweight division.

Although Diaz is a very talented BJJ practitioner, he is still an evolving fighter. Diaz is severely lacking in the wrestling department. He has a tendency to get bullied by stronger fighters with superior wrestling, as Pellegrino did when he used his wrestling to ride and pummel Diaz for the first 5 minutes of their tilt. But Nate showed he is as head-strong as his brother, never giving up even after being utterly dominated in the round. Diaz is very resilient, what he lacks in physical strength he makes up for with his length and patience on the ground in the submission game. He waits for mistakes and will set up multiple submissions when he sees an opening. Diaz’s overall length gives his stand up an added dimension as well that very few possess in the lightweight division, even though he is still learning how to use it to his best advantage. Diaz also lacks the overall strength to do any real damage to an opponent, but his striking is effective enough to force opponents into poor decisions. He is still learning how to set up his takedowns with his striking, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Diaz possesses a weak single leg take down and relies too much on his greco clinch. Lucky for him it doesn’t matter if he gets the takedown or is taken down himself, as his guard is absolutely treacherous. The definition of perilous, Diaz has proven that his guard is one place most lightweights do NOT want to be for long as it may be the most active guard in the division.

Josh Neer (24-6-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is a very savy veteran at a very young age. He trains at the Miletich camp and exhibits the standard “tough as nails” attitude that all of the MFS fighters possess. He is not outstanding in one area but is above average everywhere that a fight can go. Neer is a lifetime wrestler who has evolved into a complete fighter over the last few years and his fights show it. After fighting his whole career at 170lbs, he never seemed to be able to get that big win to put him on the map. He followed impressive wins over Melvin Guillard and Joe Stevenson in the UFC with disappointing losses to Josh Burkman and Nick Diaz. Looking for a second chance at the big time at 170lbs, he was building momentum in smaller shows until his fight with Mark Miller in the IFL. He simply got caught and was knocked out in 54 seconds, but it was enough to push Neer to make a change. A drop to lightweight followed and the UFC gave him a new lease on life. He had a dominating and imposing win over a very formidable Din Thomas. Although it was a unanimous decision, he pushed the pace and had stretches of complete mastery over Thomas. Neer proved he is going to be a menace at lightweight.

While Neer does not excel in one specific area, he brings all the intangibles that make him the type of opponent that fighters try to avoid. He has a ton of experience. He has excellent cardio. He has a cement chin. He is deceptively strong. He is extremely aggressive and in your face for the length of the fight.

Neer’s stand up is very crisp and he is extremely accurate with his strikes. He also only throws to connect, he is not one to throw punches in bunches and waste energy. He is a very good wrestler and his BJJ game is above average for most fighters coming out of MFS as they are not known for a staggering ground game. He is new to 155lbs division, only fighting twice, and both wins. He is 7-1 in his last 8 fights since leaving the UFC.

This fight is going to be a back-and-forth affair with a very high pace in the first round. I think Neer is going to be extremely confident in his ability to force the action and effectively bully Diaz around the ring and possibly into poor decisions. And I think that confidence may be his undoing. Diaz is a fighter capable of losing 14 minutes of a 15 minute fight and then catch you in a dazzling submission to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Will Neer’s submission defense be enough to effectively ground and pound Diaz, or will he abandon his ground game altogether and choose to push the stand up battle?

Look for Neer to dominate the fight early on and possibly damage Diaz heavily in the first round, as he is self-admittedly a very slow starter. Diaz will finally get some extended periods on the ground in the second round, and there is where he will catch Neer being over-aggressive with his ground and pound for the triangle choke tapout. A win for Neer goes a long way towards establishing him in the upper tier of an extremely crowded lightweight division. But a win for Diaz moves him into the top five or ten at 155lbs and one more marquee win away from a title shot. Josh Neer is a durable and hard-nosed fighter, but Nate Diaz is an extremely talented grappler riding a wave of confidence right now which should be too much for Neer’s tenacity to overcome.

The report comes from print version of the June 23 edition of the Wrestling Observer.

Filho and Sonnen had been scheduled to rematch this past March but the fight was postponed after Filho checked himself into a Brazilian rehabilitation center in order to seek treatment for depression and substance abuse.

Filho, a former veteran of PRIDE, is a perfect 16-0 with notable victories in his career over Kazuo Misaki, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Ryo Chonan, Yuki Kondo, and Akira Shoji. He has not fought since his Dec. 12 submission win over Sonnen at WEC 31.

Sonnen was dominating the fight until Filho caught him in an armbar from bottom position. The outcome of the fight was somewhat controversial, as Sonnen claimed he didn’t tap. However, during replays, Sonnen could be heard yelling as the bout was called to a stop.

Sonnen, a former veteran of both the UFC and BodogFIGHT, last fought in March for the WEC. After the bout with Filho fell through, he agreed to fight Bryan Baker instead. Sonnen recorded a one-sided unanimous decision win over the young middleweight prospect.

Neer, 24-6-1, according to Sherdog’s fight finder, is currently on a three fight win streak and was victorious in his UFC return at UFC Fight Night 13 this past April. Taking on Din Thomas in a lightweight encounter, Neer won the bout via unanimous decision.

Diaz, the younger brother of EliteXC competitor Nick Diaz, is 9-2 in 11 pro bouts and is a perfect 4-0 during his brief UFC career with victories over Manny Gamburyan, Junior Assuncao, Alvin Robinson, and Kurt Pellegrino.

UFC Fight Night 14 is expected to be held at the Pearl at the Palms and will serve as a prelude to the season premiere of the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV. In addition to the Neer vs. Diaz bout, fights between Houston Alexander vs. Eric Schafer and Tamdan McCrory vs. Luke Cummo are rumored as well.

Filho just did a stint in rehab due to depression and chemical dependency and is back to training and focusing on fighting. The two were originally supposed to have a rematch in March but Filho pulled out due to these personal reasons.

The first bout ended in a bit of controversy as Filho was getting dominated for the majority of the fight until Sonnen made a mistake on the ground that allowed Filho to lock on a tight armbar. The referee claimed that Sonned tapped verbally and he clearly had a look of pain on his face but Sonnen claims that he never tapped. The two will now clash again in a rematch to settle things once and for all in September.

From GracieFighter.com:

“That guy (Tyson Griffin) doesn’t want to fight me because he thinks he’s somewhere higher up than me? I just beat a guy that’s better than him. When was the last time he finished a fight anyways against any 155 pounder that was half decent on the ground..oh yeah never.”

These is an extensive back story involved between Griffin and both the Diaz brothers. To briefly summarize, Griffin used to train with the Diaz brothers but he left them to train with Xtreme Couture and both Nate and Nick Diaz saw that as an act of betrayal and have been dirty on him ever since.

I think that a fight between Griffin and Diaz would make a lot of sense now, considering Griffin has worked his way back up into the title picture and Diaz has just leapt up the rankings with his win over Pellegrino. Add into that the bad blood between the two and you have a very intriguing, exciting and meaningful bout.

Read more Nate Diaz content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.