Following an ACL injury and knee surgery earlier this year, Joe Lauzon (18-4 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will return to action in less than a year when he meets Sam Stout (14-5-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at UFC 108 in January.

Sources close to both fighters confirmed with MMAjunkie.com that bout agreements have been distributed for the rumored match-up and will be finalized shortly.

Although not officially announced, UFC 108 takes place Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.

A 10-bout lineup, including a five-fight main card, today was officially announced for November’s UFC 105 event.

The Nov. 14 event takes place at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, and airs via same-day delay on Spike TV in North America.

Randy Couture meets Brandon Vera in the night’s main event, and Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang, Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick, and bouts with “The Ultimate Fighter 9″ winners James Wilks and Ross Pearson are also part of the televised main card. However, MMAjunkie.com has confirmed a DaMarques Johnson vs. Peter Sobotta bout has been scrapped.

Photos courtesy of The Beckett Blog.

Check out Georges St. Pierre and Lyoto Machida after the jump. To see the entire gallery of select trading cards from the 2009 UFC Topps trading card set click here.

“Rush”

“The Dragon”

According to rumors, TUF 1 veteran Mike Swick and British hair casualty Dan Hardy will likely be facing at UFC 105 to determine who’s not ready for Georges St. Pierre and who’s really not ready for Georges St. Pierre, with the winner facing (and getting slaughtered by) the welterweight champ at a later date. Unless every other 170-pound fighter on the planet is somehow injured or otherwise busy, it’s a match-up that makes little sense, as neither man has defeated a big enough “name” fighter to warrant top contender status. Regardless, thanks to St. Pierre needing the money to keep up on payments for his Lexus, the bout could very well happen. Who stands the better chance of not getting smooshed for the TKO stoppage in the title bout? American Kickboxing Academy-trained Swick is a capable striker with the ability to end fights suddenly with his right cross, whereas Hardy’s right hook and awful hairstyle are his best assets. But neither will be able to stuff St. Pierre’s takedowns, so really, the point is moot. Hopefully, the next 170-pound contender the UFC lines up will be a more compelling threat.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos wants to defend her Strikeforce title. Likewise, Strikeforce officials want the newly crowned title-holder on their Nov. 7 CBS-televised event.

But right now, Santos (8-1) isn’t a lock for the show and instead is awaiting a meeting with her doctor to determine her eligibility for the show.

“It’s unlikely that Cris will be fighting on [Nov. 7] but still possible,” her manager, Richard Wilner, told MMAjunkie.com.

Middleweight and light-heavyweight fighters are invited to attend an open tryout for the upcoming 11th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” on Monday, Oct. 26.

The tryouts for the UFC and Spike TV’s reality series takes place at the Renaissance Los Angeles Airport Hotel in California and coincide with UFC 104, which also takes place in L.A.

Although not officially announced, “TUF 11″ is expected to debut in April with a live finale in June.

DALLAS (September 29, 2009) – A number of UFC veterans will step into the MFC ring on Friday, October 2 at “HDNet Fights Presents: MFC 22: Payoff” LIVE from the River Cree Resort and Casino. The action airs exclusively throughout North America on HDNet beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET.

One of the best line-ups in the Maximum Fighting Championship’s history has been set for “MFC 22: Payoff.” In the main event Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald (21-12) returns to the organization where he began his career, facing The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Travis ‘The Serial Killer” Lutter (9-5). In the co-main event of the evening, MFC lightweight champion Antonio “Mandingo” McKee (22-3-2) defends his title for the first time against Carlo Prater (24-6-1).

In other action, MFC fan favorite, John ‘The Natural’ Alessio (25-13) will fight Luigi Fioravanti (15-5) in a welterweight clash and Pete ‘The Secret Weapon’ Spratt (19-15) goes toe-to-toe with Nathan Gunn (7-0) in a battle of strikers.

The live broadcast will also feature Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo (10-1) against the rugged veteran Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman (16-9-1). David Heath (12-5) also takes on Mike Nickels (7-2) in a light heavyweight match up.

For more on MFC 22 click here.

As the MMA world anxiously awaits the Wednesday debut of “The Ultimate
Fighter 10″ bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (3-1 MMA, 0-0
UFC) and former IFL champ Roy Nelson (13-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the question most often heard is,
“How will Kimbo do?”

While Slice couldn’t answer that question in a Monday media call
promoting the event, the former streetfighter did hint at the answer to
another Kimbo-related question: “When will Kimbo make his official UFC
debut?”

Slice said he is already busy preparing with Florida-based American Top Team in preparation for a December contest.