Joe Stevenson dropping to featherweight, welcomes WEC vet Javier Vasquez to the UFC at UFC on Versus 4

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Following his third straight loss in the UFC, Joe Stevenson will attempt to reinvent his career as a featherweight, as the UFC announced on Monday that Joe "Daddy" will meet Javier Vasquez at UFC on Versus 4 in June.

In Vasquez, Stevens meets his second straight WEC import. Last month, at UFC on Versus 3, Stevenson dropped a decision to former WEC lightweight Danny Castillo. The loss was his third straight after back to back losses in 2010 to George Sotiropoulos and Mac Danzig, but the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season two will have a chance to turn things around now at 145 lbs.

The 34-year-old Vasquez will be out to get back on track in his UFC debut, having lost a decision to top featherweight contender Chad Mendes in his last fight in the UFC's former sister-organization. He went 2-3 in his WEC run, submitting Jens Pulver and Mackens Semerzier in between decision losses to Mendes, Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis.

UFC on Versus 4 is expected to now take place from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Penn., and will also feature a heavyweight bout between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo.

Penick's Analysis: This is a really good fight at 145 lbs. Because of his tenure with the organization, the UFC will give him another opportunity inside the Octagon with this fight. Vasquez, like Castillo before him, is also getting a big opportunity to debut in the UFC against a fighter that is well known and recognized by UFC fans. For Stevenson, this is an absolutely must-win fight for him. After working his way up to a UFC Lightweight Title shot, a fight he lost to B.J. Penn in absolutely brutal fashion, Stevenson lost five of his next eight fights. To put that number into perspective, Stevenson had only lost four fights from April 2000 until the loss to Penn in January of 2008. This is make or break for Stevenson, and a loss will mark the last time he's seen in the UFC for quite some time.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8965.shtml

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