Karlos Vemola
MFC light heavyweight champ riding 16-fight streak
One of the best North American fighters outside the UFC has finally made his way to the promotion. Ryan Jimmo has signed with the UFC and will make his debut in January against Karlos Vemola.
The UFC on Tuesday announced the Jimmo signing and the fight as part of the card for its UFC on FX debut in Nashville on Jan. 20.
Jimmo (16-1) has won 16 straight fights since dropping his pro debut in February 2007. Jimmo, a Canadian, won the MFC light heavyweight title in February with a win over Dwayne Lewis. He 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.
Vemola (8-2, 1-2 UFC) lost his last fight out, a unanimous decision to Ronny Markes at UFC on Versus 5 in August. His lone UFC win came against Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122 in Germany a year ago. Prior to that, the Czech Republic native lost to Jon Madsen in his UFC debut at UFC 116.
UFC on FX 1 will take place Jan. 20 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. It will be the UFC’s first trip to Nashville since April 2009. The card will be headlined by a lightweight contenders fight between Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller.