Report : John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani tapped for UFC 151

[Rich Davie]

by Steven Marrocco on Jul 17, 2012 at 4:10 pm ET

Hopefully John Lineker (19-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will have backup this time.

After a difficult trip from Brazil to New Jersey for UFC on FOX 3, Lineker, who was defeated by Louis Gaudinot in his octagon debut, gets a chance at redemption when he meets Yasuhiro Urushitani (19-5-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 151.

Brazilian website Tatame reported the flyweight matchup, whose placement on the card is unknown. UFC 151 takes place Sept. 1 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The event's main card airs live on pay-per-view while FX and Facebook host preliminary-card fights.

Lineker was the first UFC fighter awarded a performance bonus despite missing weight. Although fighters and managers on the scene at UFC on FOX 3 suggested Lineker didn't have the support needed to cut to flyweight on fight week, the fighter simply said his body shut down.

Nevertheless, his fight was an action-packed slugfest before Gaudinot sunk in a guillotine choke that put him to sleep in the second round. The loss snapped a 13-fight win streak spanning two years.

"When I got back to the hotel, I received a phone call and was told by (UFC matchmaker) Sean (Shelby) that I won the bonus," Lineker told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in an earlier interview. "I was so surprised. It was better than winning the lottery. I didn't expect it. I was in the hospital when they decided the bonuses."

Urushitani returns to the octagon after falling short in the UFC's first flyweight tournament. The Japanese fighter took on Joseph Benavidez in the four-man competition's opening round at UFC on FX 2 and was stopped early in the second round. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak for the former Shooto champion.

The latest UFC 151 card now includes:

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson (for light-heavyweight title)
• Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson
• Takeya Mizugaki vs. Jeff Hougland
• Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares*
• Dennis Siver vs. Eddie Yagin
• John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani*

* - Not officially announced

For more on UFC 151, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: John Lineker)

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29740/repo...or-ufc-151.mma

[JAX]

Doesn't look like much of a card so far......besides main event.

[Drock]

John Lineker has this pretty easy in my opinion looked great in his Debut

[BluenoseGreig]

Yeah, the card pretty much looks like a main event and prelims, probably a bit unfair but no fights really sticking out for me!

[Rich Davie]

It looks like Zuffa is expecting the Jones / Hendo bout to sell this event on it's own.

[BluenoseGreig]

Thats what I'm reading from this event so far! There must be a co-main that will beef the card up, surely!