Dustin Hazelett (11-4) and Tamdan McCrory (9–1) have verbally agreed to hook ‘em up in a welterweight tilt at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15, according to Sherdog.com.
Hazelett – a Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud who trains out of the JG Mixed Martial Arts Academy & Fitness Center in Ohio – is a fast rising star in the crowded 170-pound division. At just 22 years old, he already has six fights to his credit inside the Octagon.
And he has won half of those bouts via submissions, including his most recent ridiculous second round award-winning armbar finish of Josh Burkman at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale back in June.
McCrory – a 21-year-old college student at The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland) who also moonlights as a full-time fighter – is also an Octagon veteran with three fights already under his belt.
He most recently defeated Luke Cummo via unanimous decision at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" last month. "The Barncat" has one submission loss on his record to crafty veteran Akihiro Gono at UFC 78: "Validation" in November 2007.
It’s clearly a weakness that Hazelett will more than likely look to exploit on fight night and one area McCrory will be working on improving leading up to the fight.
Here’s a snip from McCrory:
"I’m a young talent with a lot of years left to grow. I have a lot of time to build my status in the UFC…. I’ve been working on my jiu-jitsu a lot. That’s one of the parts of my game that wasn’t as strong as I needed it to be. I’ve gotten 100 times better on the ground. My stand-up’s still improving. Every day, I get better."
UFC 91 will feature the major main even between heavyweight champion Randy Couture and pay-per-view (PPV)-drawing titan, Brock Lesnar. In addition, lightweights Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson will go to battle for the right to determine a clearcut 155-pound title contender.
For the latest UFC 91 fight card and rumors click here.