Participants on different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, Pete Sell (8-4) and Matt Brown (8-7), will go toe-to-toe inside the Octagon at UFC 96 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Sell — the protégé of former welterweight champion Matt Serra — made his 170-pound debut against Josh Burkman at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” in October 2008, defeating “The Peoples Warrior” via unanimous decision in an exciting back-and-forth match.
Before the must-win, “Drago” endured a string of bad luck inside the Octagon, losing three consecutive bouts. He had Scott Smith all but finished in their epic battle back at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 Finale; however, he was iced with a Hail Mary punch when he went in for the kill.
He then dropped a unanimous decision to top 185-pound contender Thales Leites at UFC 69: “Shootout” and was knocked out in his next appearance by Nate Quarry in the third round at UFC Fight Night 11 after dictating the pace of most of that fight.
Sell now boasts a nice size and power advantage over most of his opponents in the 170-pound division — he’s a big guy who can pack a punch. He’ll look to land his share of blows on Brown to see whether or not he is indeed “Immortal.”
Brown stepped up on short notice, replacing an injured Matt Riddle at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” in November 2008, to score an impressive second round submission win over Ryan Thomas via armbar.
He competed on TUF 7 before being eliminated from the show by eventual tournament winner Amir Sadollah via triangle choke in the semifinals. He bounced back to defeat Matt Arroyo via technical knockout at the TUF 7 Finale in June.
The taste of victory inside the Octagon, however, did not last long — Brown dropped a close split decision to undefeated Korean import, Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” in Atlanta, Ga., in September 2008.
Brown will more than likely do his best to stay in the win column and not lose the momentum gained from the win over Thomas.
UFC 96 is set to take place in “The Buckeye State” the same weekend as the Arnold Sports Festival — the largest health and fitness expo in the nation. It is currently without a main event.
For the latest UFC 96 fight card and rumors click here.
26 Comments »
“to score an impressive first round submission win over Ryan Thomas via armbar” it was a second round armbar
Pete will never have a belt around his waist and speaks like he really shouldn’t be allowed to take another punch inside the octogan, but he is good to watch and does tend to put on some pretty exciting fights win or lose. He is a descent enough performer to get the night started off.
BREEEAAAATTTHHHE PETE!
I don’t know who to get on this one. As said, Sell is going to be way big on Matt Brown. I like Matt, and dislike Sell, so I’ll go with the “Immortal”, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
I thought Cell would be gone by now… I actually give him a decent chance at knockin out Brown. I like Brown a lot but I think it’s a pretty big leap for him.
But Brown looked good agaisn’t Stun Gun, I actually thought he won that fight. Should be pretty evenly matched. These guys seem like they will go all out, reminiscent of the Sell/Smith fight. Damn, anytime that fight is on Unleashed I have to re-watch.
yeah this one should be a good one, hard to call they are both tough but i think sell might pull it out.
Drago FTW, the guy was RIPPED at 170 in that last fight against Burkman, I been pullin for Pete to do well for a while now, not the greatest fighter ever, but he always throws down and puts on a damn good show. I like Brown too for taking/winning that last fight on short notice but I’m taking Sell in this one. Should be a good fight either way it goes.
Yeah I completely agree! Drago is a gladiator and its hard not to root for him. Brown is also a warrior. Fight of the night candidate for sure! Just a great match up by Joe silva
One this about Pete Sell is that he is always throwing big shots…constantly. Maybe that is the problem. He always get caught while he is doing it.
He seems to get his licks in too before he gets caught, Sell hits like a truck, the one thing I don’t get is why his ground game isn’t more a part of his gameplan; working with Matt Serra you’d think he’d have some decent jits. I remember a submission win over Baroni but thats not saying much considering Phil’s ground game has never been the best. I guess going the distance with Leites without getting subbed counts for something though.
Pete’s just one of those guys that loves to fight, regardless of the outcome Pete leaves it in the octagon. I think Brown takes this one though, Sells a tough sob, but can’t seem to get a winning streak inside the UFC. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sell catchs him, but I think Brown gets him to the ground and works the submission. This would be a big win for Brown, imo its a jump talent wise.
PETE please show us this ground game that joe rogan speaks so highly of !!!!
New nickname: Pete “The Prison” Sell. haha. ok that was lame.
Puns make for lame nicknames, like Nate “Rock” Quarry or Jason “Dooms” Day.
I’m tired of all the “assassins” we have fighting in the UFC.
Awesome.
Just as long as he “don’t fuhget da baby hamma fist”
New nick name Pete “squidward” Sell.
I pull for Pete alot but I agree that like Jorge Gurgel he should utilize his ground game more often. I know he may like to stand and bang, but he’s been getting beat that way. Aside from his last fight I mean.
Haha, poor Jorge, he just couldn’t catch a break.
Why the Squidward nickname?
Sorry, my kids watch Spongebob all the time and I swear, Pete’s head is shaped just like squidwards.
Sell’s boxing looked good against Burkman however he leaves himself to open.. he needs to improve his defense!
what’s with the pre lims get a main event already
Im excited about this fight! this will definatly be fight of the night. WOOOO!
Just can’t get too excited about this one…