Thiago Alves and Rick Story are set to do battle during the upcoming UFC 130 event in Las Vegas after the UFC made the bout official on Saturday.The welterweight scrap is expected to be on the main card of the event, which will take place on May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight features a respected veteran trying to claw his way back into the title picture against a young upstart trying to crack the top 10.
Alves (18-7) rose to as high as No. 2 in the world in the welterweight division according to some rankings before taking on UFC champion Georges St. Pierre in July 2009. Alves lost a decision and followed that up with another decision loss in August 2010, this time to Jon Fitch. He earned his way back into the win column at UFC 124 in December, getting the judges' nod in a decision over John Howard.
Story lost his UFC debut against John Hathaway back in June 2009, but has since captured five straight fights, most recently earning a unanimous decision over the then-unbeaten Johny Hendricks.
On the strength of his winning streak, Story boasts a 12-3 record.
UFC 130 will be main evented by a lightweight championship rematch between title-holder Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. In the co-main event, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will face Matt Hamill. The two other officially announced fights both feature heavyweights. In one, Frank Mir and Roy Nelson will clash, while the other bout features 6-foot-11 Stefan Struve against 6-foot-7 Travis Browne.
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