A pair of new matchups has been added to April's UFC 159 event as Phil Davis (10-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meets Vinny Magalhaes (10-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight affair, while Cheick Kongo (18-7-2 MMA, 11-5-1 UFC) faces Roy Nelson (18-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a heavyweight contest.
UFC officials announced the two bouts on Tuesday's new edition of "UFC Tonight."
UFC 159, which features a title fight between light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and "The Ultimate Fighter 17" fellow head coach Chael Sonnen, takes place April 27 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The evening's main card airs on pay-per-view, and while UFC officials did not reveal where the new matchups would appear on the evening's lineup, both appear worthy of main-card consideration.
The Davis vs. Magalhaes matchup was booked after both fighters openly lobbied for the matchup. Magalhaes started the talk on Twitter, and "Mr. Wonderful" was quick to accept the challenge.
Davis looks to build on the success of a second-round submission win over Wagner Prado in a rematch of the pair's August 2012 meeting that ended in a no contest after the Brazilian couldn't continue after an accidental eyepoke.
Meanwhile, Magalhaes currently boasts a six-fight win streak that includes a September 2012 win over Igor Pokrajac at UFC 152. That bout represented Magalhaes' first win in the octagon after a 2008 run on "The Ultimate Fighter 8" ended with two official UFC losses.
Kongo fights for the first time since a July win over Shawn Jordan at UFC 149. While the fight proved a lackluster affair, it did allow the French striker to rebound from a surprising UFC 144 loss to Mark Hunt. With the result, Kongo is 4-1-1 in his past six fights.
Meanwhile, Nelson looks to build on the strength of back-to-back first-round knockouts of Matt Mitrione and Dave Herman. While "Big Country" had struggled through a 1-3 run that left some wondering if he might consider a move to light heavyweight, Nelson has now reversed courses and is 3-1 in his past four outings.
Don't really care for Kongo these days, should be another W for :roy: