Pearson-Couture, De Fries-Mitrione, Alloway-LaFlare Added to UFC on Fuel TV 9 Bill

Ross Pearson will welcome Strikeforce import Ryan Couture to the Octagon in a lightweight clash, while Philip De Fries squares off with Matt Mitrione at heavyweight. Additionally, Ben Alloway locks horns with Ryan LaFlare at welterweight.

UFC on Fuel TV 9 takes place at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 6 and is headlined by a key 205-pound showdown between Alexander Gustafsson and Gegard Mousasi.

Pearson capped off a coaching stint on “The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. the U.K.” with a third-round technical knockout of George Sotiropoulos at UFC on FX 6 in December. The Alliance MMA representative was knocked out by Cub Swanson at UFC on FX 4 in his only other bout in 2012.

Until now, Couture’s entire professional career has been contested under the Strikeforce banner. The Las Vegas resident compiled a 6-1 record with the now-defunct promotion, most recently taking a split decision from K.J. Noons on Jan. 12.

De Fries has alternated wins and losses in four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 26-year-old Englishman was stopped by Todd Duffee in the first round of their UFC 155 encounter. De Fries owns wins over Oli Thompson and Rob Broughton during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Mitrione carries a two-fight losing streak into his showdown with De Fries. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 alumnus began his UFC career with five straight victories before dropping a unanimous verdict against Cheick Kongo at UFC 137. In his most recent outing, Mitrione took a short notice-bout against Roy Nelson at the “TUF 16” finale and fell to “Big Country” via first-round TKO.

A cast member on “TUF: Australia vs. the U.K.,” Alloway had a successful UFC debut, earning a stoppage of Manuel Rodriguez in the opening frame of their UFC on FX 6 matchup. LaFlare, meanwhile, was originally expected to square off with Josh Burkman at World Series of Fighting 2 on March 23. The unbeaten Bellmore Kickboxing Academy product has finished all seven of his opponents by knockout or submission.