MMA: Davis-Evans, Leben Suspended, Ellenberger-Sanchez & the Week's Biggest News

As if the barrage of fight announcements last week wasn't enough to keep every MMA fan busy in the coming months, even more fights have been revealed for upcoming cards.

The biggest reveal of the week came in regards to the UFC's next event on network television.  Headlining the Jan. 28 in Chicago will be light heavyweight contenders "Suga" Rashad Evans and Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis.

In some disheartening news, former cast member of The Ultimate Fighter season one, Chris Leben, was suspended for an entire year by the UFC following a positive drug test at UFC 138 in November.

Finally, the promotion announced that an event will be coming to Fuel TV in February and will be headlined by a welterweight collision between red-hot Jake Ellenberger and TUF winner Diego Sanchez.

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter  @RobTatumMMA.

Return to Chicago Features Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis on Fox

When the UFC returns to the Windy City for the first time in three years, an important fight in the light heavyweight division will take top-billing, as former champ Rashad Evans battles undefeated Phil Davis.  The pair will collide on Jan. 28 from the United Center in Chicago and will air live on the Fox network.

Also on the card will be a lightweight matchup between unbeaten British submission ace Paul Sass and veteran Evan Dunham.

Heavyweight Jon Olav Einemo will make his Octagon return following a brief hiatus stemming from a disagreement between his management and the promotion.  Welcoming the Golden Glory fighter back will be Mike Russow. 

Chris Leben Suspended for One Year Following Positive Drug Test

Middleweight fighter Chris Leben tested positive for Oxycodone and Oxymorphone following his Nov. 5  loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England.

As a result of the positive test, Leben will be suspended from fighting for one year by the promotion.

The remaining 19 fighters on the UFC 138 card all passed their post fight drug tests.

UFC Debuts on Fuel TV with Clash Between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez

A welterweight bout between rising contender Jake Ellenberger and former TUF winner Diego Sanchez has been scheduled for Feb. 15. The event will take place at the CenturyLink Center in Ellenberger’s hometown of Omaha, Neb., and air live on Fuel TV.

Heavyweights Stefan Struve and Dave Herman are also on deck for the inaugural card on the cable network.

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale Set

With the final episode of The Ultimate Fighter 14 complete, the two finals are set.  John Dodson stopped Johnny Bedford by strikes in the second round of their semi-final matchup and will now face TJ Dillashaw in the bantamweight final.  Brazilian slugger Diego Brandao finished Bryan Caraway with a first round barrage to earn a ticket to the featherweight final against Dennis Bermudez. 

Also on tap for the the final are three additional fights in each division, featuring contestants from this season. 

In the bantamweight division, Dustin Pague meets John Albert, Roland Delorme battles Josh Ferguson, while Johnny Bedford will take on Louis Gaudinot.  Bedford and Pague both advanced to the semi-finals on the show before being eliminated.

The featherweight clashes include former Team Bisping teammates Marcus Brimage and Stephan Bass, semi-finalist Bryan Caraway against Dustin Neace and Steven Siler versus John Clopton.

The Ultimate Fighter 14 finale takes place this Saturday, Dec. 3, in Las Vegas from the Pearl at the Palms.

UFC 141 Officially Adds Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes

The final main card fight at the Dec. 30 UFC 141 event will be a featherweight matchup between TUF veteran Nam Phan and Jim Hettes.

The bout is slated to air on the pay-per-view portion of the card, which is headlined by a heavyweight fight between former UFC champion Brock Lesnar and former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem.  The event takes place from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

UFC on FX 1 Fight Card Update

Verbal agreements are in place for a middleweight fight between Eric Schafer and Jorge Rivera.

The pair will meet in Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 20 during the promotion's first card on the network.

Three other bouts will grace the card, as former featherweight champion Mike Brown battles Vagner Rocha.  Promotional newcomer Reza Madadi makes his debut against Rafaello Oliveira in a lightweight bout. Finally, light heavyweight Ryan Jimmo will also make his UFC debut against Karlos Vemola.

UFC 143 Fight Card Update

The Feb. 4 UFC 143 event, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, has added two additional bouts.

Welterweights Jorge Lopez and TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah have verbally agreed to meet on the card.

Newly signed Michael Kuiper will take on Rafael Natal in a middleweight contest.

Georges St-Pierre will defend his welterweight title against Nick Diaz at the event.

UFC 144 Card Takes Final Shape

The UFC has revealed four additional fights for its Feb. 26 event titled “UFC Japan” or UFC 144.  That brings the total number of fights up to 12.

Filling out the card will be a lightweight bout between former Pride champion Takanori Gomi and Aussie fighter George Sotiropoulos.

Also on deck is a bantamweight clash featuring former WEC title challenger Takeya Mizugaki and Chris Cariaso.

“Kid” Yamamoto will go to battle against British bantamweight Vaughan Lee.

Finally, Chinese featherweight Tiequan Zhang will meet Leonard Garcia.

UFC 144 will take place at the Saitama Super Arena and is headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Benson Henderson.

DREAM, ONE FC Announce Co-Promotion Deal

Two of Asia’s biggest promotions have announced that they will be combining forces to increase their visibility and bolster their star power.

Dream and One Fighting Championship have declared an intention to co-promote events and exchange fighters between them, the heads of both promotions announced on Monday.

The change is effective immediately and fighter exchanges are expected to happen soon.  A joint promotional effort has been tentatively scheduled for March 31 at Singapore Stadium with the name ONE FC/DREAM in Singapore.

Pudzianowski-Thompson Rematch from KSW 17 Declared No-Contest

Saturday’s KSW 17 bout between Mariusz Pudzianowski and James Thompson has been declared a no-contest, the Polish promotion announced on Monday.

Pudzianowski was originally awarded a majority decision in the two-round heavyweight bout, which took place at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland. The decision was incorrectly awarded to Pudzianowski when it should have been ruled a draw.

Under KSW rules, a stalemate after two five-minute rounds requires a three-minute overtime frame. Since that didn’t happen, KSW owners and officials agreed to declare the fight a no-contest.

Thompson and Pudzianowski first met at KSW 16 in May, where the Englishman submitted the former World’s Strongest Man with an arm-triangle choke in the second round.