Light heavyweights Alessio Sakara (11-6) and James Lee (12-2) will throwdown at UFC 80: "Rapid Fire" at The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England, on January 19, 2008.
MMAmania (www.mmamania.com) first learned about the match up earlier this morning from members of the Sakara management team. In addition, representatives indicated that this will be the last fight for Sakara at 205 pounds in the near future -- he plans to dip down to middleweight (185 pounds) regardless of the result in the United Kingdom.
It's been an up-and-down experience for the Sakara since his Octagon debut in October 2005. The Italian-born brawler has been unable to string together consecutive wins in six attempts (2-3 with one "No Contest). His last time out at UFC 75: "Champion vs. Champion" he got flattened by Houston Alexander in 61 seconds via technical knockout.
Without question this is a must-win for Sakara, which would also give him some momentum and confidence heading into his next fight at middleweight.
Lee is a UFC newcomer who has had tremendous success under the King of the Cage (KOTC) banner. In fact, in 14 professional contests not one of them has went the distance. He has a remarkable list of submissions to his credit and has never been stopped via strikes -- his two losses are via submission.
For the most recent rumored UFC 80 fight card click here.