Marcus Brimage meets newcomer Cody Garbrandt at UFC 182 in Las Vegas

Marcus Brimage

The UFC’s first card of 2015 continues to expand with the addition of a new bantamweight bout.

Marcus Brimage (7-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will face promotional newcomer Cody Garbrandt (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 182. UFC officials announced the new booking early Saturday evening.

UFC 182 takes place Jan. 3 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC 182 features a main event light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

Brimage got back in the win column earlier this month with a head kick knockout of Jumabieke Tuerxun at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney. That got him back on track after back-to-back losses to Conor McGregor in April 2013 and Russell Doane by split call in July at UFC 175. His loss to Doane was his first fight at bantamweight after four bouts as a featherweight. He started his career as a lightweight.

Garbrandt, a 23-year-old from Ohio, now joins his Strong Style Fight Team teammates Stipe Miocic and Jessica Eye in the UFC. Since turning pro in 2012, Garbrandt has all five of his wins by knockout, including four in the first round.

With the addition, the latest UFC 182 card includes:

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier – for UFC light heavyweight title
• Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury
• Josh Burkman vs. Hector Lombard
• Rodrigo Damm vs. Evan Dunham
• Nate Marquardt vs. Brad Tavares
• Louis Gaudinot vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
• Jared Cannonier vs. Shawn Jordan
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Mats Nilsson
• Marcus Brimage vs. Cody Garbrandt

For more on UFC 182, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.