The UFC Fight Night 81 event in Boston on January 17th has been bolstered by the addition of two new bouts.
First up, controversial heavyweight Travis Browne will fight Matt Mitrione in what looks destined to be a main card scrap.
Browne was suspended from the UFC for several months this year by the promotion after claims of domestic abuse from his estranged wife, but after the subsequent investigation proved inconclusive he was reinstated.
Browne is coming off two losses in his last three fights, but nonetheless he still holds down the No.5 spot in the division and will see this as an opportunity to put his recent troubles behind him and gets his career back on track.
Mitrione is also coming off a loss, succumbing to a first round submission defeat against Ben Rothwell back in June which snapped a three-fight winning streak and leaves him placed at No.13 in the official heavyweight rankings.
Also added to the UFN 81 card is a middleweight match-up which sees Tim Boetsch going up against Ed Herman.
These two UFC veterans are both fighting for survival after disappointing runs in the Octagon of late. Boetsch in particular has just two wins in his last seven fights and was KO’d by Dan Henderson last time out, while Herman fares only slightly better with three wins out of his last seven.
These two newly announced fights join an already strong looking line-up which is headlined by a bantamweight title showdown between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz, plus an exciting lightweight encounter between former champ Anthony Pettis and Eddie Alvarez.