The first fight for the UFC's historic debut event on Fox has been booked. Dustin Poirier (10-1) will battle Pablo Garza (11-1) in a featherweight contest scheduled for November 12th in Anaheim, California. Promotion officials announced the bout late Thursday afternoon on UFC.com.
Known as "The Diamond," Poirier is ranked as one of the world's top-10 featherweights. The 22-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt trains with Tim Credeur's Gladiator LA, and has ripped off a streak of three-straight wins after suffering his first loss against Danny Castillo at WEC 50. Poirier last fought against Jason Young at UFC 131, dominating the late replacement on route to a unanimous decision victory.
Garza enters the Octagon on the heels on two consecutive highlight-reel finishes. Nicknamed "The Scarecrow," the 27-year-old North Dakotan followed up a stunning flying knee knockout of Fredson Paixao in his featherweight and UFC debut, with a ridiculous flying triangle choke submission over Yves Jabouin at UFC 129. The two performances earned Garza ‘Knockout of the Night' and ‘Submission of the Night' honors, respectively.