Keith Wisniewski
Welterweights on tap for prelims
The UFC’s March return to the Bell Centre in Montreal has another bout added to the lineup.
Veteran welterweight Keith Wisniewski will welcome a newcomer to the UFC when he meets Chris Clements at UFC 145. Sources close to the fight confirmed the reported booking to HeavyMMA.
Wisniewski (28-13-1, 0-2 UFC) returned to the UFC last fall nearly six years after his first fight with the promotion, a loss to Nick Thompson at UFC 56. But at UFC on Versus 6, he ran into Josh Neer, also returning to the promotion after some time away, and Neer’s accurate striking opened up a cut that was bad enough to force a doctor’s stoppage after two rounds.
Prior to getting the call from the UFC, Wisniewski had gone on a six-fight winning streak, including a dominant unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Chris Wilson and a submission of UFC vet Pete Spratt, both on Hoosier Fight Club shows in Wisniewski’s Northwest Indiana home base. Wisniewski owns and operates the Duneland Vale Tudo camp with his brother, Justin, which is the home to UFC fighters Eddie Wineland and Darren Elkins, as well as Bellator fighter Josh Shockley.
Clements (10-4), a Canadian who is part of the team formed by late trainer Shawn Tompkins, enters his UFC debut on a four-fight winning streak, all stoppages, including knockouts of UFC vets Rich Clementi and Jonathan Goulet. Ironically, Clements and Wisniewski both have losses to UFC veteran Rory Markham on their resume in their lone fights with the now-defunct International Fight League. All 10 of Clements’ career victories have come by knockout.
UFC 145, which will take place March 24, will be the promotion’s first trip to Montreal since UFC 124 in December 2010. The UFC skipped Montreal in 2011 and instead visited Toronto twice, plus Vancouver. Montreal is home to the UFC’s top three attendance marks for arena shows, all at the Bell Centre. Including Wisniewski-Clements, which is likely to be part of the preliminary card, seven fights have been announced for the event, including a heavyweight tilt between Brendan Schaub and Ben Rothwell.