The UFC Tuesday announced that Tavares (Pictured) has verbally agreed to take part in the July 2 event, which emanates from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
Tavares, 23, is a former “TUF” contestant, having reached the UFC reality show’s 11th-season semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winner Court McGee. The Hawaiian made his official Octagon debut in June 2010 with a unanimous decision over castmate Seth Baczynski, whom Tavares had beaten via disqualification during the season. On Jan. 1, Tavares added a major win to his 7-0 professional record, knocking out veteran Phil Baroni in the first round of their UFC 125 meeting.
An NCAA Division I wrestling standout and longtime assistant coach at Arizona State University, Simpson carries an MMA record of 9-2 with six knockouts. The 36-year-old “A-Train” began his career with eight straight wins, besting the likes of Ed Herman and Tom Lawlor in the UFC before falling to Chris Leben in a June 2010 stoppage. After dropping a decision to fellow wrestler Mark Munoz in November, Simpson rebounded on March 26 with a unanimous verdict over Mario Miranda at UFC Fight Night 24.
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