UFC 166 Gets Lightweights K.J. Noons, George Sotiropoulos

UFC officials confirmed the booking on Twitter following an initial report from TheAge.com.au. UFC 166 takes place Oct. 19 at the Toyota Center in Houston and is headlined by a heavyweight title rubber match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. The evening’s pay-per-view offering will also see Daniel Cormier collide with Roy Nelson, while Diego Sanchez takes on Gilbert Melendez.

Noons, 30, has lost three straight fights heading into his sophomore UFC effort. The Strikeforce import made his Octagon debut this past May at UFC 160, falling in a unanimous decision to the well-rounded Donald Cerrone. Known for his striking skills, Noons holds eight of his 11 career wins by knockout and has been stopped just twice in 18 pro outings.

Sotiropoulos, meanwhile, has done the majority of his damage on the mat, earning eight victories by way of submission while collecting just one knockout. Like Noons, the Australian rides a three-fight skid into UFC 166, as he fell to Rafael dos Anjos and Dennis Siver in 2011 before suffering a third-round knockout at the hands of Ross Pearson this past December at UFC on FX 6.