UFC
UFC adds trio of bouts to UFC 154 with Makdessi-Stout, Menjivar-Gashimov, and Maldonado-Diabate
Sep 8, 2012 - 2:35:27 PM UFC adds trio of bouts to UFC 154 with Makdessi-Stout, Menjivar-Gashimov, and Maldonado-Diabate

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A trio of fights have been added to the UFC 154 event in Montreal this November, with John Makdessi vs. Sam Stout, Ivan Menjivar vs. Azamat Gashimov, and Fabio Maldonado vs. Cyrille Diabate all headed to the Nov. 17 event.

The Makdessi vs. Stout booking was first reported by The Canadian Press, and will see Makdessi in desperate need of a win against a longtime UFC veteran. Makdessi had impressed fans through his first two fights in the UFC, putting on a striking clinic against Pat Audinwood and knocking out Kyle Watson in front of 55,000 fans with a spinning back fist, but his deficiencies on the ground were highlighted in his next bout against Dennis Hallman, and he lost a second straight fight in his last bout against Anthony Njokuani.

Now he needs to bounce back against Stout, who wants to avoid staying at .500 in his UFC run. Stout enters the event off a questionable decision win over Spencer Fisher in the third fight between the two of them, and he'll look to move his UFC record to 8-6 with a win in this bout.

The Menjivar-Gashimov booking was announced by the UFC on Friday night, and Menjivar will try to bounce back from a streak-snapping loss by welcoming the newcomer to the Octagon. Menjivar had won three straight fights in the UFC, looking quite impressive along the way, but a decision loss to Mike Easton halted that run. Gashimov enters the UFC with a 7-1 career record, and six of the Russian's seven wins have come by stoppage.

Finally, MMAJunkie.com reports that Maldonado has been moved from UFC on Fuel 5 in England to this card in Montreal after his originally scheduled opponent, Jorgen Kruth, abruptly retired from the sport. Maldonado has been on the wrong end of two unfortunately poor decisions in a row, and finds himself in desperate need of a win. He'll need to get past Diabate, who has alternated wins and losses inside the Octagon to a 3-2 mark.

UFC 154 heads to Montreal's Bell Centre on Nov. 17, headlined by the return of UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre in his title unification bout against Carlos Condit.