Jon Fitch Returns to Face Johny Hendricks at UFC 141

Jon Fitch’s time on the sidelines appears to have come to an end as he is now set to face former NCAA champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 in December.

Sources close to the match-up confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com, and it has been verbally agreed to by both fighters. ESPN.com initially reported the bout.

Jon Fitch gets back in action after several months away from the sport because of shoulder surgery that put him on the sidelines.

Fitch fought to a draw with B.J. Penn in his last fight in February, and was going to have a rematch with him in July before the injury put him off the card and under the knife. Now recovered, Fitch was lobbying for a fight on the UFC 139 card in San Jose, which is where he trains at American Kickboxing Academy, but the promotion had a different idea.

The man who will try to hand Fitch only his 2nd loss in the UFC will be two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks.

Hendricks comes to UFC 141 on a two fight win streak with victories over T.J. Waldburger and Mike Pierce. The former Oklahoma State wrestler has also picked up wins over Charlie Brenneman and former TUF champion Amir Sadollah since coming to the UFC.

The fight with Fitch will definitely be Hendricks’ biggest step up on competition, but his opportunity to break through to a top five fighter.

The bout between Fitch and Hendricks is expected to take place on the UFC 141 card headlined by former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem making his UFC debut against Brock Lesnar.

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