Sadollah Returns at UFC 91 in November

By Thomas Gerbasi

Amir Sadollah’s emergence on the mixed martial arts scene earlier this year as the winner of The Ultimate Fighter’s seventh season was one of 2008’s great stories. On November 15th, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, his saga continues as he returns to the Octagon to take on unbeaten newcomer Nick Catone on the televised portion of UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar.

2-0 in his pro career, the 28-year old Sadollah stunned fight fans earlier this year as he tore through the field on The Ultimate Fighter, defeating Steve Byrnes, Gerald Harris, Matt Brown, and CB Dollaway (twice), with all of his victories coming via submission or TKO. In Catone (6-0), Sadollah will be facing a former Division I wrestler from Rider University with a purple belt in jiu-jitsu who has finished his last four opponents in the first round.

“From what I can tell, he is a tough guy, with a good wrestling and jiu-jitsu background,” said Sadollah of Catone. “I’m sure it’s going to be a very tough fight and I am approaching this seriously, as if I was fighting any other top contender.”

Also added to the UFC 91 main card is a heavyweight matchup between highly-regarded contender Gabriel Gonzaga and UFC debutant Josh Hendricks. Gonzaga (9-3) broke a two-fight losing streak in impressive fashion at UFC 86 in July, submitting Justin McCully in the first round. Hendricks (14-4), a two-time All-American wrestler, comes to the UFC unbeaten in his last ten fights, with all but one of those wins coming in the first round.

In preliminary action on November 15th, lightweight prospect Jeremy Stephens (15-3) looks to bounce back from a hard-fought decision loss to Spencer Fisher in June when he squares off against Pancrase and Shooto veteran Rafael dos Anjos (11-2), who will bring a nine fight winning streak into his Octagon debut.

Tickets for UFC 91: Couture vs Lesnar are on sale now.