Top UFC welterweight contenders Thiago Alves(16-6) and Jon Fitch (22-3) are expected to fight following an early morning tweet by UFC president Dana White. “ALVES vs FITCH in vancouver!!!!!,” White tweeted. Alves and Fitch were supposed to battle as part of a triple main-event for UFC 111 but Alves was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an irregular CT scan. After minor brain surgery, Alves told his fans that he was ready to return to action as soon as UFC 114 on May 29. Fitch defeated Ben Saunders via decision after three rounds at UFC 11.
Fitch and Alves are now expected to meet on June 12 at the UFC’s first event in Vancouver, British Columbia. The bout between Fitch and Alves could serve to determine a number one contender for UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre who has defeated both men via unanimous decision. Fitch’s teammate at the American Kickboxing Academy, Josh Koscheck (14-4), will be fighting Paul Daley (23-8) at UFC 113 in Montreal on May 8. The Koscheck-Daley bout that also been talked about to determine a new challenger for the champion. Koscheck has been defeated by St-Pierre, making Daley the only man of the four possible contenders to have never faced GSP. Daley’s Team Rough House training partner Dan Hardy lost to St-Pierre on March 27, 2010.
UFC 115 has no official fights announced by the UFC but White’s tweet is as close to official as it gets without a full press release. The main event is still under question as Chuck Liddell (21-7) is slated to appear with an undetermined opponent. Liddell was supposed to fight Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) for the third time at the conclusion of their coaching stints on this season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, there have been many rumours speculating Tito Ortiz being replaced by Rich Franklin (25-5) at some point during the season. Dana White, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz are all denying any change in the plans and claim Liddell and Ortiz will fight as planned on June 12 in Vancouver. Rich Franklin and Randy Couture (18-10) have been rumoured as replacements for Ortiz against “The Ice Man” at UFC 115.
