Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le
Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Bisping
Renan Barao vs. Jeff Hougland


Verbal agreements are in for three fantastic bouts for this year's Fourth of July weekend event, slated for July 7 in Las Vegas. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin will return to 185 to take on former Strikeforce champion Cung Le.

In another middleweight matchup, top ten middleweights Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch and Michael "The Count" Bisping will square off in a battle that could have major implications for the 185 title picture.

Bantamweight Renan Barao has the greatest unbeaten streak in the sport -- a staggering 31 straight fights -- and he'll gun for another when he faces Jeff "Hellbound" Hougland at UFC 148. Unbeaten since 2003, Hougland is looking for his 10th straight victory and a spot in the upper rankings of the bantamweight division.

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le
Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Bisping
Renan Barao vs. Jeff Hougland
Riki Fukuda vs. Costa Philippou


The UFC 148 fight card continues to add muscle -- not to mention international flair -- with verbal agreements coming in for two more bouts at the July 7 event.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Demian Maia will drop to welterweight and be welcomed by the super-tough 15-1 Korean judo expert Dong Hyun Kim.

Plus, heavy-hitting middleweights Riki Fukuda and Costa Philippou will clash. The Japanese Fukuda scored a decision win last month at UFC 144; Cyprus-born, Long-Island based Philippou accomplished the same a week later at UFC on FX.

With Jeff Hougland being plucked to fill in for an injured fighter on the May 15 card, Renan Barao has found a new UFC 148 opponent in Ivan Menjivar. Both men are explosive, elite contenders with the experience, records, and talent worthy of a title shot.

The outcome of this fight could cement the next challenger for the bantamweight belt currently belonging to Dominick Cruz.


www.UFC.com

This card is looking sweet!

With yesterday's announcement that Rich Franklin would fill in for the injured Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 147, middleweight Cung Le was left without an opponent for his UFC 148 main card bout.

The wait for another big name wasn't long, though, as Canadian veteran Patrick Cote has been tapped to return to the UFC -- where he once fought Anderson Silva for the title -- to face Le.

"I M BACK !!!," tweeted Cote, whose fans had launched a campaign in recent months to lobby for his return to the Octagon. "UFC 148 Las Vegas , July 7th vs the dangerous Cung Le ! Thanks everybody for the support !"


UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II
July 7, 2012
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada


Anderson Silva (31-4) vs. Chael Sonnen (27-11-1)
Urijah Faber (26-5) vs. Renan Barão (28-1)*
Forrest Griffin (18-7) vs. Tito Ortiz (16-10)
Cung Le (7-2) vs. Patrick Cote (17-7)

Dong Hyun Kim (6-1-1) vs. Demian Maia (15-4)
John Alessio (34-15) vs. Shane Roller (10-6)
Gleison Tibau (25-7) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (17-0)
Costa Philippou (10-2) vs. Riki Fukuda (18-5)
Melvin Guillard (29-10-2) vs. Fabricio Camoes (14-6-1)
Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-1) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (14-5)


*UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz out with injury.