UFC 139 is filling up fast. Immediately following the announcement of Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury, a second light heavyweight battle was added to the card late Tuesday afternoon by UFC officials. Fresh off a stunning loss to Tito Ortiz, ‘The Ultimate Fighter 8' winner Ryan Bader (12-2) has agreed to fight Jason Brilz (18-4-1) at the upcoming San Jose event.
Once nestled on the precipice of a title shot after winning the first 11 contests of his young professional career, Bader now hopes to rebound from a sudden two-fight losing streak since dropping consecutive bouts to Jon Jones and Ortiz. Throughout his seven fights in the Octagon, the 28-year-old two-time All American wrestler holds notable victories over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Keith Jardine.
Brilz enters the bout mired in a two-fight losing streak of his own, since winning three of his first four contests under the UFC banner. Known as "The Hitman," the 36-year-old works as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and trains at Omaha's Elite Performance gym alongside promotional brethren Ryan Jensen and Jake Ellenberger.
UFC 139 is scheduled for November 19th at the HP Pavilion Center in San Jose, California. A heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos headlines the action.