Koscheck-Daley Official for ‘Machida vs. Shogun 2’

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

World-ranked welterweights will face off when Josh Koscheck meets Paul Daley in a featured matchup at UFC 113 “Machida vs. Shogun 2” on May 8 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Seven bouts have been greenlit for the UFC’s return north of the border.

Koscheck, a perennial contender at 170 pounds, has won consecutive fights since his surprising technical knockout loss to Paulo Thiago in early 2009. The 32-year-old American Kickboxing Academy product last appeared in November, when he submitted Anthony Johnson with a rear-naked choke at UFC 106. A semi-finalist on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Koscheck was a Div. I national champion and four-time All-American wrestler at Edinboro University. The Waynesburg, Pa., native holds wins against former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne, one-time Icon Sport titleholder Frank Trigg and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 winner Diego Sanchez.

Based at Team Rough House in Nottingham, England, Daley has emerged as one of the most feared stand-up fighters in the welterweight division. The 26-year-old has finished his last four opponents inside one round, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Dustin Hazelett, whom he flattened in 2:24 at UFC 108 in January. A former Cage Rage and FX3 champion, Daley has delivered 18 of his 23 career victories by knockout or TKO and has gone the distance only once in his past 13 appearances.

Meanwhile, Tim Credeur will lock horns with the always entertaining Tom Lawlor in a preliminary middleweight bout at UFC 113.

Credeur, 32, has posted six wins in his last seven fights but finds himself on the rebound following his unanimous decision defeat to Nate Quarry at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. A BJJ black belt and former Rage in the Cage champion, he has secured eight of his 12 victories by submission, the other four by KO or TKO.

One of the sport’s most colorful characters, the Orlando, Fla.-based Lawlor was a three-time national wrestling champion at the University of Central Florida. A quarter-finalist on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” -- he lost to eventual light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader -- the 27-year-old dropped a controversial split decision to undefeated Arizona Combat Sports standout Aaron Simpson at UFC Fight Night 20 last month.

The highly anticipated rematch between light heavyweight king Lyoto Machida and 2005 Pride Fighting Championships middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will headline UFC 113. A heavyweight showdown pitting reformed street-fighter Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson against the unbeaten Matt Mitrione has also been confirmed by UFC President Dana White.