“The Ultimate Fighter 11” contestant Rich Attonito takes his next step into the Octagon after having to withdraw from the reality series tournament due to injury when he faces Rafael Natal at “UFC Fight Night 22”.
The promotion announced the bout earlier today, slotting it for the preliminary card of the evening.
Attonito returned from his injury sustained during the eleventh season of the series at “The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale”, facing off against the resident bad boy of the TUF house, Jamie Yager. Attonito weathered Yager’s early storm quite well and went on to defeat his athletic opponent with a second round technical knockout.
Natal’s bout with Attonito will mark his first fight with the promotion. He last fought at “Moosin: God of Martial Arts” this past May, defeating former UFC middleweight top contender Travis Lutter via technical knockout. The win vaulted Natal into the eyeline of the UFC and pushed his professional record to an impressive 12-2.
“UFC Fight Night 22” is set for September 15 in Austin, Texas and features a main event between middleweight contenders Demian Maia and Alan Belcher. The card also consists of three lightweight bouts, including Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau, Ross Pearson vs. Cole Miller, and Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig. The televised portion of the event is complete, though the preliminary card still has a few empty slots.