Mike Russow Meets Jon Olav Einemo at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago

Jon Olav Einemo

Russow gets fight in home city

Mike Russow and Jon Olav Einemo will meet in a heavyweight bout when the UFC returns to Chicago in January.

Sources close to Russow’s camp confirmed the fight booking to Heavy.com on Tuesday. MMA Fighting first reported the news. It will be a hometown fight for Russow, a Chicago police officer.

Russow (14-1, 1 NC, 3-0 UFC) has won all three of his UFC fights, including a Knockout of the Night win over Todd Duffee at UFC 114 in May 2010. Russow had been dominated by Duffee in the fight for more than two rounds before stunning him with a straight right midway through the third round. After recovering from a broken hand, Russow returned in March and got a TKO doctor’s stoppage win over Jon Madsen. Russow, who has not lost since Pride 33, his only career setback, was scheduled to return in October against fellow Midwesterner Dave Herman. But Herman was pulled from the fight after failing his pre-fight drug screening.

Einemo (6-2, 0-1 UFC) returns to the organization after dropping his debut, a TKO loss to Herman at UFC 131 in June that earned Fight of the Night honors. After that bout, Einemo was released from the UFC reportedly due to the UFC’s dispute with his Golden Glory management team. But after the dust settled and Golden Glory’s most prominent fighter, Alistair Overeem, split from the camp and signed with the UFC, it apparently paved the way for some of his teammates to do the same.

UFC on Fox 2 has been confirmed to Heavy.com by UFC president Dana White, though the event has not yet been formally announced. It is expected to take place Jan. 28 at the United Center in Chicago. It will be the UFC’s first visit to Chicago since UFC 90, which took place north of the city in suburban Rosemont, Ill., at the Allstate Arena. The United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, is situated in downtown Chicago.