Holloway vs Fili and Ellenberger vs Medeiros set for UFC 172

Two more fights added to UFC 172 in April

by Ben Heather @benheather

UFC 172 which is due to take place on April 26th has just added a couple of extra fights to the card and these should be sure to excite the fans.

Andre Fili will meet Max Holloway in a featherweight battle. Fili who made his UFC debut at UFC 166 taking the fight on less than two weeks notice and missed weight.... though this wasn't a massive shock as when he took the fight he weighed 178lbs. Fili managed to cut 30lbs but couldn't get down to the 146lb limit. However, when he got in to the Octagon he didn't disappoint again. He dominated the fight from start to finish when he picked up the win by TKO in the second round.

I certainly am looking forward to seeing him back in the Octagon again and I am pretty sure Dana White will be too after praising his performance last time out.

Fili's opponent at UFC 172 will be Max Holloway, who ended a two fight losing streak at UFC Singapore defeating Will Chope via second round. Before that he had lost to Conor McGregor and Dennis Bermudez but always comes to put on a show and with Fili's fighting style this should be a great fight for the fans.

Also added to UFC 172 is Joe Ellenberger who will be making his UFC debut at the same event as his brother Jake will be making his return from injury. Ellenberger, will meet Yancy Medeiros who defeated Yves Edwards by KO at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 last year and both men will be looking to continue up the ranks with a win in April.

Below you will find the current UFC 172 card

Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira
Jake Ellenberger vs Tarec Saffiedine
Yancy Medeiros vs Joe Ellenberger
Max Holloway vs Andre Fili

Joe Ellenberger signs for the UFC

Ellenberger signs four fight deal to fight for the UFC

by Ben Heather @benheather

Joe Ellenberger, the twin brother of longtime UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger has signed for the UFC.

The part that makes Ellenberger (14-1) joining his brother as part of the UFC roster is the fact he was told back in 2009 that his fighting career would have to end. At the time his record was 10-0 and he was diagnosed with Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a disease that attacks and destroys the red blood cells. Not only was he told he would not fight again, he was told the chances are he would not be alive to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Thankfully for everyone that is not the case and with the help of Soliris, a drug which is used to prevent the breakdown of red blood cells in people with Ellenberger's condition he has been able to focus back on his career. Ellenberger returned to fighting in 2011 after a 22 month lay off and won back to back fights before losing for the first time in his career in October 2011 against Justin Salas, who signed for the UFC after the win.

After that loss he has got back to winning ways with two wins in 2012 but has not fought since then so him signing for the UFC now came as a bit of a surprise. As yet there is no date set for him to make for debut in the UFC but I for one will be looking forward to seeing him make it on the big show and complete his dream.