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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC held a press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday for the ticket on sale launch for UFC 180, and they also announced the full main card for the pay-per-view event.
In addition to the previously announced main event between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, the UFC announced Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jake Ellenberger for the co-main event, with the main card rounded out with Diego Sanchez vs. Norman Parke, Ricardo Lamas vs. Dennis Bermudez, and Erik Perez vs. Marcus Brimage.
Gastelum, the undefeated winner of The Ultimate Fighter 17, is a sensible pick for the night's co-main event. The son of Mexican immigrants to the United States, he has as much of a cultural tie to the host city as any on the card.
He'll try to pick up his fifth straight UFC win when he takes on Ellenberger, who needs to bounce back from consecutive losses to Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler.
Sanchez picked up one of bigger robbery decisions in recent memory in his last outing against Ross Pearson, and now he'll take on another European TUF winner in Parke, who enters the Nov. 15 event unbeaten in 11 fights.
Lamas and Bermudez is a fight between two top ten featherweights; Lamas as a former title challenger is a sensible step up for the rising Bermudez, who hopes to score his own title bout as he enters the event with a seven fight winning streak.
Mexico's Perez returns home country for just his second fight ever in Mexico, and hopes to bounce back from a loss to Bryan Caraway in his last outing. He'll take on Brimage, whose return in July after 15 months out of action saw him fall by split decision to Russell Doane.
[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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