UFC
TUF 7's Paul Bradley gets call-up to UFC, meets Rafael Natal at UFC 133
Jul 25, 2011 - 4:05:03 PM TUF 7's Paul Bradley gets call-up to UFC, meets Rafael Natal at UFC 133

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

On Saturday night, Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product Paul Bradley picked up his third straight submission win, and now he's finally getting a chance to make his UFC debut.

According to multiple published reports, Bradley will step in to meet Rafael Natal next month at UFC 133 in Philadelphia.

Bradley won his opening round fight on the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, earning his way into the house. Unfortunately, Bradley had contracted a contagious skin condition that forced doctors to pull him from the competition. Bradley was given an opportunity to fight in Strikeforce in 2009, but was one and done in the organization when top Strikeforce middleweight contender Luke Rockhold took him out in the first round. That loss was just the second of his career, and he's won three fights since.

Natal lost his originally scheduled opponent, Constantinos Philippou, when Alessio Sakara was forced out of a fight with Jorge Rivera and Philippou was moved up to the fight with Rivera. Natal will be out to get his first win in three fights in the UFC, after losing a decision to Rich Attonito in his UFC debut and fighting to a majority draw with Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 124.

UFC 133 takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on August 6, headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz.

Penick's Analysis: Bradley's lost just twice in his 18-fight MMA career, once to current UFC welterweight Mike Pierce and then to Rockhold. His opportunity to get into the UFC was thwarted by the skin condition on The Ultimate Fighter, but he's got his chance now to take a spot on the roster. Of his 16 wins, five have come by submission and five by TKO, and he'll attempt to pick up a win on short notice against a tough opponent in Natal.