Following news yesterday of card additions to UFC On FUEL TV 9 in April, UFC officials on Saturday morning announced three more additions to the card including the debut of Ryan Couture.
Couture (6-1, 0-0 UFC) will make his UFC debut following seven fights with Strikeforce in a tough matchup as he takes on TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson (14-6, 6-3 UFC). Couture comes into the UFC riding a four-fight win streak with his most recent win coming over K.J. Noons at Strikeforce’s final event in January. Pearson is looking for his second straight win since returning to 155 pounds. He coached opposite George Sotiropoulos at the inaugural edition of TUF: The Smashes, and he scored a knockout win over Sotiropoulos in December.
Heavyweights Matt Mitrione (5-2, 5-2 UFC) and Phil De Fries (9-2, 2-2 UFC) will finally square off on the event. They were set to meet at UFC 155 in December before Mitrione stepped in as a replacement to fight Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale in December. Mitrione suffered a loss and has now dropped two straight since starting his career with five straight wins. De Fries looks to get back in the win column as he was knocked out by replacement Todd Duffee at UFC 155.
Additionally, Ben Alloway (13-3, 1-0 UFC) will take on promotional newcomer Ryan LaFlare (7-0, 0-0 UFC) in a welterweight fight. Alloway competed on TUF: The Smashes and made his octagon debut in December, scoring a knockout win over Manuel Rodriguez. LaFlare debuts riding a seven-fight win streak. He was recently announced as part of March’s World Series of Fighting 2 event, but has since signed to make his UFC debut.
UFC On FUEL TV 9 takes place April 9 from the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Alexander Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi will serve as the night’s main event.
