Up-and-coming welterweights Tamdan McCrory and John Howard are in negotiations to collide at for UFC 101, which is tentatively scheduled to take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on August 8.

MMAmania.com learned about the 170-pound showdown over the weekend.

McCrory recently stepped up on short notice to replace an injured Ben Saunders against the debuting Ryan Madigan (who was replacing an injured Dustin Hazelett) to score a first round submission win (strikes) at UFC 96: “Jackson vs. Jardine” just last month.

It was a big win for the “Barncat,” coming off a submission loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu Wunderkind Dustin Hazelett at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” on November 15.

The 20-something college student at The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland) who also moonlights as a full-time fighter, has defeated Luke Cummo via unanimous decision at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” and tapped Pete Spratt in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 10 in June 2007.

He’ll look for the momentum to continue to roll against one of the brightest young welterweight prospects on the East Coast.

Howard earned his shot in the big show courtesy of a solid record fighting in smaller shows throughout the Northeast such as Ring of Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships. In his first trip to the Octagon, “Doomsday” outpointed the venerable Chris Wilson at UFC 94 on Jan. 31, earning “Fight of the Night” honors for the performance.

UFC 101 will likely feature a main event between lightweight champion BJ Penn against number one contender Kenny Florian, as well as a 205-pound showdown between former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and the previously unbeaten Thiago Silva in the co-featured fight of the night.

For more on UFC 101, including rumored bouts and all other event-related news, click here.