Report: Menjivar-Valencia Targeted for UFC 129

UFC 129, expected to draw historic crowds, will be headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Jake Shields. MMAJunkie.com on Friday was first to report the Menjivar-Valencia matchup.

Menjivar has been away from the Octagon since 2004, his last appearance coming at UFC 48 against former welterweight champion Matt Serra. After retiring in 2006, “The Pride of El Salvador” made his return to the cage at a Warrior-1 event in June. Menjivar quickly submitted his opponent with a triangle choke in his comeback fight and was signed to compete in the WEC just six months later. In his first appearance with the promotion, the 28-year-old lost a hard-fought unanimous decision to Englishman Brad Pickett at WEC 53 in December. Menjivar holds 16 of his 21 career victories by knockout or submission, and he has only been knocked out once during his decade-long stint as a professional.

Valencia comes off a “Submission of the Night” performance but not in the way he would have preferred, as the Californian was submitted by a Miguel Torres rear-naked choke in the first round of their WEC 51 affair. Prior to losing to the former champion, Valencia had won three straight contests in the blue cage. The bantamweight holds five of his 12 wins by submission and has earned notable victories over Antonio Banuelos and Akitoshi Tamura.

UFC 129 will also reportedly feature a light heavyweight tilt between former champions Lyoto Machida and Randy Couture, as well as a lightweight scrap between Benson Henderson and Mark Bocek.