More events were confirmed today for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s UFC on VERSUS 1 fight-card today including the addition of another Colorado native to the card in heavyweight Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub, who will be going toe-to-toe with Chase Gormley for the March 21 fight card, which will take place in the Odeum Colorado in Broomfield, Colo.
Colorado locals Eliot “The Fire” Marshall and Duane “Bang” Ludwig have also previously been confirmed for the event; Marshall is scheduled to face Vladimir Matyushenko in a light-heavyweight bout (205 lbs.) while Ludwig will step up to meet fellow veteran Spencer Fisher in a lightweight contest (155 lbs.) All three of the Colorado area fighters will be on the under-card on the evening which means they may not be televised during the VERSUS broadcast. To guarantee a chance to see them fight, fans can purchase tickets here at TicketHorse.
Schaub last competed on Season 10 of the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter where he eventually fell in the season’s championship finale. The Hybrid won his first fight on TUF against Demico Rogers by showing off his jiu-jitsu skills with a solid anaconda choke. He advanced and was then able to battle off a Matt Hughes wrestling disciple in Jon Madsen and in the process proved that it was going to take a lot for any fighter to hold him on his back – something that is very important with the great wrestling talent in the UFC’s heavyweight division. He eventually finished Madsen off with a solid right hand- something that would become a theme in the show for the Golden Gloves boxing champion. Schaub drew an intriguing semi-final match-up with fellow NFL veteran in Marcus “Big Baby” Jones. Schaub was able to battle back from danger on his back as Jones at one point had the full mount. The Hybrid showed his intelligence in the cage and was able to relax in the face of danger and found his way back up to his feet where he was able to rock Jones with a solid right hand. Schaub’s killer instinct took over and he was able to reign down multiple right hands on top of Jones when the fight was called. However, in the season finale Schaub fell victim to a first-round knock-out loss at the hands of Season 10 champion Roy Nelson.
This will be Schaub’s first action back inside the octagon since the finale and he will look to get back to his more familiar winning ways. An Aurora, Colo. native and former University of Colorado Buffaloes full back, Schaub began his mixed martial arts career fighting in the Ring of Fire promotion in in Broomfield and should feel quite at home inside the Odeum Colorado when the cage closes and he squares off with a fellow up-and-coming UFC heavyweight in Gormley.
Another veteran to fighting in Broomfield and the ROF, as well as a contestant in Season 8 of TUF, is Eliot Marshall, who will step into the octagon at UFC on VERSUS 1 for the first time since last September when he defeated Jason Brilz via a split decision at UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort.
Marshall, who attended the University of Colorado, fights out of Boulder, Colo. and trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Amal Easton and is another member of Jackson’s MMA headed by famed trainer Greg Jackson.
Jackson trains a great majority of Colorado fighters including Schaub and Ludwig as well as UFC heavyweight top contender Shane Carwin, UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt, and WEC featherweight top-contender Donald Cerrone. Marshall also teaches jiu-jitsu at Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“The Fire” began his MMA career in the ROF and went 5-1 in the organization before competing on TUF. Marshall made it to the semi-finals before being defeated by the eventual season champion Ryan Bader in a unanimous decision. Since then, Marshall went on to win his first official UFC fight in the Season 8 Finale by securing a first round submission over Jules Bruchez and has kept up his wining ways with back-to-back decision victories over a fellow Season 8 cast member in Vinicius Magalhães, followed by the split-decision against Brilz at UFC 103.
Ludwig will strap on the fingerless gloves once again for the UFC when he takes on Fisher in March’s Colorado event; Ludwig, too, will feel at home in the Odeum Colorado as he has experience in the building under the ROF and Strikeforce organizations.
“Bang” first burst onto the UFC scene at UFC 42: Sudden Impact back in April of 2003 and has fought in organizations all over the world as well as many top names, including a loss to UFC lightweight Champion B.J. Penn and a win against former UFC lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, in his decade long career. He is 18-9 overall and is coming off of a Jan. 2 arm-bar submission loss at UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva at the hands of Jim Miller.
Here is what the fight card is shaping up to date with the latest announcements and rumors:
MAIN CARD
Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera (Main Event)
Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Paul Buentello vs. Cheick Kongo
John Howard vs. Anthony Johnson
Shannon Gugerty vs. Clay Guida*
PRELIMINARY CARD
Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Spencer Fisher vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig
James Irvin vs. Alessio Sakara
Chase Gormley vs. Brendan Schaub
Jason Brilz vs. Eric Schafer
Rob Kimmons vs. Mike Pierce*
* – Not officially announced by UFC
