Joe Camporeale,
US PRESSWIRE
Benson Henderson vs. Nathan Diaz for the lightweight title, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs Alexander Gustafsson and B.J. Penn vs. Rory MacDonald have all been added to UFC on FOX 5, which will take place on Dec. 8 at a yet to be announced venue. UFC president Dana White confirmed the news with USA Today on Wednesday.
This marks the first time a UFC title will be defended on network television since Cain Velasquez fought Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 in November.
Henderson (17-2) successfully defended the title on Saturday night when he defeated Frankie Edgar via split decision, while Diaz (16-7) most recently defeated Jim Miller via guillotine choke at UFC on FOX 3 in May.
Rua (21-6) picked up a much-needed TKO win over Brandon Vera two weeks ago at UFC on FOX 4, while Gustafsson (14-1), considered one of the rising stars in the 205-pound weight class, is coming off a win over Thiago Silva in April.
And then you have Penn vs. MacDonald, which was supposed to take place at UFC 152 in September until a cut suffered in training forced MacDonald to pull out of the fight. Penn (16-8-2) hasn't fought since October, when he lost to Nick Diaz via unanimous decision. Following the fight, Penn announced his retirement from the sport, but he returned earlier this year when MacDonald called him out on The MMA Hour. MacDonald (13-1) most recently defeated Che Mills via TKO at UFC 145.
The promotion is expected to announce a fourth main card fight in the following weeks.
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