HEAVYWEIGHTS ROUND OUT UFC 84 FIGHT CARD

The headline bout at UFC 84 features a lightweight championship bout between current champion B.J. Penn and former champion Sean Sherk. Following a suspension by the California State Athletic Commission for a positive test for performance enhancing drugs, Sherk was stripped of the title. Penn won the vacated championship in January by defeating Joe Stevenson.

Other bouts confirmed on Monday include Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry, Terry Etim vs. Jeremy Stephens, and Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch.

Carwin is a notable addition to the UFC’s heavyweight division. He is a Division II All-American in both wrestling and football. He is also undefeated, at 8-0, in mixed martial arts. Carwin should provide an athletic boost to a division that has seen the recent exodus of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, former champion Tim Sylvia, and, likely, Andre Arlovski, also a former UFC champion.

Wellisch is 8-3 as a professional, but hasn’t seen action in the Octagon since last September due to finishing up law school. He is 2-1 in the UFC defeating Scott Junk and Anthony Perosh, losing only to Cheick Kongo. The American Kickboxing Academy teammate of Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, and Josh Koscheck has a wealth of experience and should prove a difficult first bout in the Octagon for Carwin.

UFC 84 also features the returns of Keith Jardine and Wanderlei Silva, who will battle in a light heavyweight contest. Another notable bout is the last fight on Tito Ortiz’s UFC contract, which he says he will not renew, against No. 4 ranked and undefeated light heavyweight Lyoto Machida.

UFC 84 Bouts (officially announced):

-B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk
-Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva
-Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz
-Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
-Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
-John Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
-Dong Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan
-Rousimar Palhares vs. Ivan Salaverry
-Terry Etim vs. Jeremy Stephens
-Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch