Nelson vs. Dos Santos Official for UFC 117

Surging Brazilian heavyweight contender Junior dos Santos will lock horns with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson in a featured heavyweight duel at UFC 117 “Silva vs. Sonnen” on Aug. 7 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Nine fights are now official for the event.

Dos Santos, believed to be on a short list of heavyweight title contenders, will ride a six-fight winning streak into the bout. The 25-year-old last appeared in March, when he stopped Gabriel Gonzaga on first-round punches at UFC on Versus 1 in Broomfield, Colo. Victories against 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, the world-ranked Fabricio Werdum and Dutch knockout artist Gilbert Yvel anchor his resume. Dos Santos has finished all five of his opponents, four of them inside one round, since he made his Octagon debut in October 2008.

A former International Fight League champion, Nelson has not competed since he flattened the 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve in 39 seconds at UFC Fight Night 21 three months ago. The 33-year-old has been finished only once -- by former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski -- in 19 professional appearances. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, Nelson has delivered 12 of his 15 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

A middleweight title fight between embattled champion Anderson Silva and outspoken challenger Chael Sonnen will headline UFC 117, which will also feature a welterweight matchup between hall of famer Matt Hughes and former King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida.

Source: sherdog.com