Herman (22-9, 5-5 UFC) last appeared at “The Ultimate Fighter 13” Finale in June, when he stopped Tim Credeur on first-round punches at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas; it was his first bout in nearly two years, his absence the result of two reconstructive knee surgeries. The 30-year-old Vancouver, Wash., native has secured 20 of his 22 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Wins over highly regarded Brazilian Glover Teixeira, former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne, Canadian journeyman Joe Doerksen and onetime UFC middleweight title contender David Loiseau anchor Herman’s resume.
Once a former bodyguard for the late Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin, Noke (19-4-1, 3-0 UFC) will carry a five-fight winning streak into the match. The 31-year-old last competed at UFC 127 in February, when he submitted fellow “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 alum Chris Camozzi with a first-round rear-naked choke at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. In nearly nine years as a professional, Noke has never lost back-to-back fights. He has trained extensively at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M.
Meanwhile, the once-beaten Edwin Figueroa will face the oldest active competitor on the UFC roster, 41-year-old Jason Reinhardt, in a preliminary bantamweight duel.
Figueroa (7-1, 0-1 UFC) impressed in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 24 in March, even in losing a unanimous decision to blue-chip prospect Michael McDonald at the Key Arena in Seattle. A former King of Kombat champion, the 26-year-old McKinney, Texas, native has delivered all seven of his victories by KO, TKO or submission, three of them inside one round.
Reinhardt (20-2, 0-2 UFC) has never gone to a decision. The Wand Fight Team representative has not competed since he succumbed to a first-round guillotine choke from Chinese import Tiequan Zhang at UFC 127. Reinhardt -- who has lost both of his UFC fights in the first round -- has secured 17 of his 20 career victories by submission.
A welterweight matchup between former title contender Dan Hardy and the well-traveled Chris Lytle will headline UFC Live 5, along with a pivotal lightweight scrap between AMA Fight Club’s Jim Miller and onetime WEC champion Benson Henderson. The event will also feature a welterweight duel pitting Duane Ludwig against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah, a middleweight bout pairing C.B. Dollaway with Jared Hamman and a lightweight tilt matching Brazilian prospect Charles Oliveira against Donald Cerrone.
Dan
Hardy vs. Chris
Lytle
Jim
Miller vs. Benson
Henderson
Charles
Oliveira vs. Donald
Cerrone
Amir
Sadollah vs. Duane
Ludwig
C.B.
Dollaway vs. Jared
Hamman
Joseph
Benavidez vs. Eddie
Wineland
Ed
Herman vs. Kyle Noke
Ronny
Marki “Ronny Markes” Sales da Silva vs. Karlos
Vemola
Leonard
Garcia vs. Alex
Caceres
Cole
Miller vs. T.J.
O’Brien
Jacob
Volkmann vs. Danny
Castillo
Jason
Reinhardt vs. Edwin
Figueroa