In a move surely to delight this site's readers, the UFC has re-signed UFC heavyweight Jake O'Brien (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and scheduled him to fight Cain Velasquez (3-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at the recently announced UFC Fight Night 14 -- an event that features a headline bout of Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin.
A source close to O'Brien today told MMAjunkie that the fight has been agreed upon and will be announced as official soon.
The re-signing of O'Brien comes just two months after he was dropped from the organization.
O'Brien, who has lost only to Andrei Arlovski in his professional career, was shocked in April when he was dropped from the UFC with two fights remaining on his contract. He initially called the move "very surprising," and his camp confirmed that he had no idea that his UFC career was on the line during the comeback fight.
With an upset victory over veteran fighter Heath Herring in January 2007, O'Brien pushed his UFC record to 4-0. However, a few months after the fight, he underwent surgery because of "stingers," a painful nerve injury that originates in the spine. O'Brien went under the knife, and doctors entered through his neck to implant a medal rod and cadaver discs in his spine. At first, doctors feared the injury might be career-ending. However, O'Brien underwent physical therapy and returned from a 14-month layoff to fight Arlovski, but he suffered a second-round TKO.
With the new UFC contract, O'Brien has pulled out a planned July 18 Palace Fighting Championship fight. He signed a two-fight deal with the PFC just days after being dropped by the UFC.
He'll now take on Velasquez, a product of the American Kickboxing Academy who made his UFC debut in April at UFC 83. There, he scored a first-round TKO of Brad Morris -- his third consecutive first-round knockout since turning pro in October 2006.
Velasquez, a former Arizona State University wrestler, will meet a former Purdue University wrestler in O'Brien.
UFC Fight Night 14, which airs on Spike TV, goes head-to-head with "Affliction: Banned," the debut card for the MMA clothing company turned promoter. The Affliction event, which airs on pay per view, features a main event between former PRIDE heavyweight champ Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC title-holder Tim Sylvia.
For the latest on UFC Fight Night 14, stay tuned to our MMA Rumors section or just check out our initial report from earlier today.
