Anthony Perosh Meets Ryan Jimmo at UFC 149 in Calgary

Ryan Jimmo

16-1 Jimmo makes long-awaited UFC debut in home country

Ryan Jimmo has his second crack at a UFC debut, and this time it will come in his home country of Canada.

Jimmo, a highly touted light heavyweight, will meet Anthony Perosh at UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch this summer. Canada’s Sportsnet was first to report the fight booking, which subsequently was confirmed by UFC officials.

UFC 149 takes place July 21 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, and will be the UFC’s first trip to Canada’s third largest city. Expected to headline the pay-per-view is a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and top contender Erik Koch.

Jimmo (16-1) has won 16 straight fights since dropping his pro debut in February 2007. He won the Maximum Fighting Championships light heavyweight title in February 2011 with a win over Dwayne Lewis and has since defended it twice against Zak Cummings and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. All of Jimmo’s 17 career fights have taken place in his native Canada, including notable wins over UFC vets Marvin Eastman and Wilson Gouveia. He trains in Edmonton, about 180 miles north of Calgary.

Jimmo was expected to debut at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller in January in Nashville. But an injury forced him out of his fight against Karlos Vemola and the fight was dropped from the card.

Perosh (13-6, 3-3 UFC) is on a three-fight winning streak after dropping the first three fights of his UFC career, spread out over two stints with the promotion. At UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann in his native Australia, Perosh picked up a first-round TKO win over Nick Penner. That came on the heels of a pair of 2011 submission victories over Cyrille Diabate and Tom Blackledge.

Aside from the Perosh-Jimmo fight and the featherweight title bout, UFC 149 will feature a heavyweight bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cheick Kongo; a light heavyweight fight between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Thiago Silva; and a welterweight bout between Thiago Alves and Yoshihiro Akiyama.