Menjivar-Pace Targeted for UFC 133 in Philly

“Bantamweights Ivan Menjivar [Pictured] and Nick Pace have agreed to fight each other Aug. 6, at UFC 133 in Philadelphia,” said UFC president Dana White in a statement. “Menjivar is coming off a devastating elbow KO win, and Pace utilized a rarely seen type of submission to secure the victory in his last outing.”

Pace was originally supposed to face Michael McDonald at the event, but “Mayday” was forced to withdraw from that bout to replace an injured Norifumi Yamamoto against Chris Cariaso at UFC 130 on May 28.

Headlined by a pivotal light heavyweight confrontation between former champion Rashad Evans and rising star Phil Davis, UFC 133 goes down from the Wells Fargo Center and will also feature a middleweight tilt between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara.

Menjivar has won two of his last three fights. The 28-year-old veteran made his return to the UFC in his most recent bout, knocking out Charlie Valencia with a wicked elbow from the clinch at UFC 129 in April. A 10-year pro, Menjivar owns 17 of his 22 career wins by either knockout or submission.

Beaten only once as a professional, Pace was last seen submitting Will Campuzano with a pillory choke in his UFC debut in December. The Tiger Schullman disciple is a veteran of both Bellator Fighting Championships and Ring of Combat, winning the latter promotion's lightweight title in June. His lone loss came to Demetrious Johnson at WEC 51, as “Mighty Mouse” walked away from their September scrap with a unanimous decision.