Caol Uno, Hermes Franca Return to UFC in Grappling Superfights

By Ray Hui - Editor

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Caol Uno and Hermes Franca are among the competitors that have been confirmed for this year's grappling superfights on May 28 and 29 at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas.

The matches highlighting the grappling portion of this year's festivities are Franca vs. Bill "The Grill" Cooper, ADCC champ Penny Thomas vs. Strikeforce veteran Shayna Baszler, Uno vs. Fredson Paixao and Javier Vazquez vs. Jeff Glover.

Uno, a former UFC lightweight title challenger, was recently released by the UFC following his first-round TKO loss to Gleison Tibau at UFC Fight Night on March 31. The 10-time UFC competitor lost two fights and battled to one draw in his latest stint in the UFC. Uno will face Paixao, a WEC featherweight who submitted Courtney Buck at WEC 47 in March.

Franca was handed his walking papers from the UFC after a loss to Tyson Griffin last September at UFC 103. Franca competed once more in January and after losing to a little known Eric Wisely, announced his retirement from MMA. Cooper is a mainstay in the Grapplers Quest circuit and is based out of California.

Vazquez was last seen submitting Jens Pulver by first-round armbar at WEC 47. His opponent, Glover, is a two-time IBJJF medalist and is another Grapplers Quest favorite.

Baszler is currently in the FCF women's tournament with two victories this year. Last June, Baszler lost to current Strikeforce 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman at Strikeforce Challengers. Baszler will face a strictly jiu-jitsu fighter in world champ Thomas.

Read More: news, Caol Uno (MMA), Hermes Franca (MMA)

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