By Mike JohnstonIt has been confirmed that Toronto’s Mark Bocek will face submission standout Dustin Hazelett in a lightweight matchup at UFC 124 in Montreal later this year.
Bocek, who is coming off a close, controversial decision loss to Jim Miller at UFC 111, will look to get back on the winning track against a fellow jiu-jitsu specialist. UFC President Dana White said he is a fan of the Ontario native. “I’m a big Bocek fan,” White said while in Toronto earlier this year. “When we (Dana and his UFC business partners) started taking jiu-jitsu, he was one of our instructors. That kid was beating up on us when he was 15 years old… Bocek has turned into a really good fighter.”
This will be Bocek’s third time fighting in Montreal for the UFC and his seventh time fighting in Quebec in his MMA career. His opponent is one of the more popular fighters in the promotion, but it’s safe to say the Canadian crowd will be backing Bocek. Hazelett drops to lightweight for the first time since early 2007 after being stopped by bigger, stronger welterweights Rick Story and Paul Daley in his last two fights.
There is no word yet on whether the fight will take place on the main card or preliminary card. Regardless, this bout has an excellent chance of winning “Fight of the Night” or for one man to leave with a “Submission of the Night” award.
UFC 124 will mark the fourth trip the organization has made to Montreal, and its fifth trip to Canada since 2008. It is available to order on pay-per-view December 11. A Welterweight Championship fight between TUF 12 coaches Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck will headline the event. Also currently scheduled for the card is a 170lb matchup between Thiago Alves and John Howard.
For more information on the UFC visit ufc.com. For more info on Mark Bocek visit markbocek.com.
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