Fresh Faces: UFC 125 edition

UFC 125 rings in the New Year with a lightweight title match between champion Frankie Edgar and undefeated challenger Gray Maynard.

The card also features four fighters making their UFC debuts, including three WEC standouts. Meet them in this edition of Fresh Faces.

Name: Josh Grispi

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Dustin Poirier

Record: 14-1 (6 (T)KOs, 7 submissions) for the WEC and various U.S. promotions

Recent body of work: Submitted LC Davis by first-round guillotine choke at "WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus" in June

Who he is: Grispi enters his UFC debut riding a 10-fight winning streak, including eight straight first-round finishes and a 4-0 mark in the WEC. Originally, Grispi was scheduled to face Erik Koch at WEC 52, but the UFC decided to grant Grispi a shot at the newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo instead. After Aldo was forced to withdraw from the bout with a back injury, Poirier became Grispi's new opponent.

Name: Dustin Poirier

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Josh Grispi

Record: 8-1 (5 (T)KOs, 3 submissions) for the WEC and various promotions in the United States and Canada

Recent body of work: Defeated Zach Micklewright by TKO in just 0:53 at "WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki" in November

Who he is: Poirier will step in to face Grispi after Grispi's original opponent, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, was forced to withdraw due to an injury. A Louisiana native, Poirier rebounded from his first career loss -- a decision to Danny Castillo -- with a 53-second TKO win over Micklewright in November, and will drop from lightweight to featherweight for the first time in his career.

Name: Diego Nunes

Weight class: Featherweight

Fighting: Mike Brown

Record: 15-1 (5 (T)KOs, 6 submissions) for the WEC and various Brazilian promotions

Recent body of work: Defeated Tyler Toner by unanimous decision at "WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan" in September

Who he is: Hailing from Brazil, Nunes entered the WEC having finished all 11 of his professional fights. After suffering his first career loss to LC Davis, Nunes rebounded with back-to-back victories in 2010 to run his WEC record to 4-1. Since entering the WEC, all five of Nunes' fights have gone to decision.

Name: Antonio McKee

Weight class: Lightweight

Fighting: Jacob Volkmann

Record: 25-3-2 (3 (T)KOs, 4 submissions) for various promotions in the United States, Canada and Mexico

Recent body of work: TKO'd Luciano Azevedo in the first round at "MFC 26: Retribution" in September

Who he is: The 40-year-old McKee has not lost a fight since dropping a decision to Karo Parisyan in 2003, a span that has lasted 15 fights (14-0-1). Long criticized for being a boring fighter (18 of his 25 wins have come by decision), McKee has finished his last two fights in the first round. In his most recent bout against Luciano, McKee stated that he would retire if he failed to finish the fight. He made good on his guarantee, blasting Luciano with elbows that forced a doctor stoppage.

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Mirko Cro Cop vs. Brendan Schaub in the Works for UFC 128

A heavyweight match between Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Brendan Schaub is in the works for UFC 128, which is expected to take place on March 19 in Newark, NJ.

'Cro Cop' (27-8-2 (1 NC), 4-4 UFC) will look to rebound from a tepid loss to Frank Mir in the headlining bout of UFC 119 that had many questioning whether or not the Croatian would retire. Prior to the loss, 'Cro Cop' had won two straight.

Schaub (7-1, 3-1 UFC) has won three straight UFC bouts since losing to Roy Nelson in the finals of "The Ultimate Fighter 10." This is Schaub's third suspected opponent, after previous reports have had him fighting Frank Mir and Stefan Struve.

'Cro Cop' last three fights:
Loss (KO - Knee) Frank Mir - UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop (09/25/2010)
Win (Submission - Rear-Naked Choke) Pat Barry - UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin (06/12/2010)
Win (TKO - Doctor Stoppage) Anthony Perosh - UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez (02/21/2010)

Schaub last three fights:
Win (Unanimous Decision) Gabriel Gonzaga - UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez (10/23/2010)
Win (TKO - Punches) Chris Tuchscherer - UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin (07/03/2010)
Win (TKO - Punches) Chase Gormley - UFC Live on Versus: Vera vs. Jones (03/21/2010)

Props: Fighters Only

Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft in the Works for UFC Fight Night 24

A heavyweight bout between Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft is in the works for UFC Fight Night 24, which is expected to take place on March 26 in Seattle, WA.

McCorkle (10-1, 1-1 UFC) has emerged as one of the best trash talkers in MMA, taking to forums and his Twitter to blast his opponents. In his most recent outing, McCorkle lost by first-round TKO to Stefan Struve at UFC 124. The loss marked the first of McCorkle's career.

Morecraft (6-1, 0-1 UFC) also suffered his first career loss at the hands of Struve, this time at UFC 117. Prior to that loss, Morecraft had won all six of his professional fights in the first round.

McCorkle last three fights:
Loss (TKO - Punches) Stefan Struve - UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2 (12/11/2010)
Win (Submission - Kimura) Mark Hunt - UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop (09/25/2010)
Win (TKO - Punches) Johnathan Ivey - Legends of Fighting 39 (05/28/2010)

Morecraft last three fights:
Loss (KO - Punches) Stefan Struve - UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen (08/07/2010)
Win (Submission - Punches) Lee Beane - Cage Fighting Xtreme 9: Finally (05/28/2010)
Win (TKO - Punches) Jason Dolloff - Cage Fighting Xtreme 8: Rumble in the Jungle 3 (02/20/2010)

Props: MMA Fighting

Shane Roller vs. Thiago Tavares in the Works for UFC on Versus 3

A lightweight bout between Shane Roller and Thiago Tavares is in the works for UFC on Versus 3, which is expected to take place on March 3 in Louisville, KY.

Roller (9-3, 0-0 UFC) will make his UFC debut after a 6-2 run in the WEC. A powerful wrestler, Roller capped off his WEC career by submitting former WEC champion Jamie Varner in the first round at WEC 53.

Tavares (15-3-1, 5-3-1 UFC) is undefeated in his last three fights (2-0-1) after dropping three of four from 2007-2008. Most recently, Tavares submitted Pat Audinwood by first-round guillotine choke at UFC 119.

Roller last three fights:
Win (Submission - Rear-Naked Choke) Jamie Varner - WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis (12/16/2010)
Loss (Submission - Triangle Choke) Anthony Pettis - WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez (08/18/2010)
Win (Submission - Rear-Naked Choke) Anthony Njokuani - WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber (04/24/2010)

Tavares last three fights:
Win (Submission - Guillotine Choke) Pat Audinwood - UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop (09/25/2010)
Draw (Majority) Nik Lentz - UFC Fight Night 20: Maynard vs. Diaz (01/11/2010)
Win (Unanimous Decision) Manvel Gamburyan - UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 (01/31/2009)

Props: MMA Junkie

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