This is a must win for Joe Stevenson if he wants to stay in title contention after losing a mainly one sided fight to Kenny Florian. Diego Sanchez would like to kick off the year with the win to cement his name in the lightweight division. Joe Stevenson hold's a great record of 34-09-0 with a few notable losses inside the octagon to world class opponents.

Diego Sanchez also has an impressive record of 21-02-0 with his losses also to top flight competition. Both fighters have solid wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills but don't expect this fight to hit the mat as both men want a stand up war. The slight edge could go to Diego Sanchez as he has dropped down in weight and with that he may be the stronger man and able to control the grappling.

Undercard details to follow