Featherweights Jim Hettes, Marcus Brimage to Square Off at UFC 152 in Toronto

Promotion officials announced the featherweight pairing on Friday. The Sept. 22 card features a 170-pound clash pitting former two-division champion B.J. Penn against rising prospect Rory MacDonald. UFC 152 was originally expected to be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, but UFC President Dana White has since said that the title bout will likely be contested at a different date.

Unbeaten in 10 professional appearances, Hettes made his Octagon debut this past August, submitting Alex Caceres with a rear-naked choke in the second round at UFC Live 5. He followed that performance with a unanimous decision triumph over Nam Phan at UFC 141, a dominant effort that resulted in a pair of 30-25 scorecards in favor of the Pennsylvania native. Hettes was supposed to face Steven Siler at UFC on FX 4 last month, but the 25-year-old judo specialist was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury.

An alumnus of Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Brimage has also emerged victorious in his first two UFC outings. “The Bama Beast” defeated Stephen Bass via unanimous decision at the “TUF 14” Finale in December before earning a split verdict over Maximo Blanco at UFC 145. The American Top Team representative has tasted defeat just once in six fights, a submission loss to Joey Camacho in 2008.