John Maguire
Welterweights agree to April fight
DaMarques Johnson will face John Maguire in a welterweight fight when the UFC makes its first trip to Sweden.
Though the fight and event have not yet been announced by the UFC, sources close to the bout on Wednesday told HeavyMMA the fight is planned for a likely April 14 show in Stockholm. Published reports in Sweden have indicated the card will take place at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, and could be the UFC’s second event on Fuel TV.
The UFC has discussed a show in Sweden for several years, but none has come to fruition yet. The UFC currently has three shows outside the United States scheduled for the first quarter of 2012 – UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro, UFC 144 in Japan and UFC 145 in Montreal.
Johnson (15-9, 4-3 UFC) is coming off a knockout win against Clay Harvison at the first UFC on Fox event last month. But he has been up and down his last four fights and unable to put together a winning streak in two years. But all four of the TUF 9 runner-up’s UFC wins have been by stoppage, as have 14 of his 15 career wins.
Maguire (17-3, 1-0 UFC) won his UFC debut last month with a unanimous decision over Justin Edwards, fighting in front of his home England crowd at UFC 138. Maguire, who has more than half of his wins by submission, will come into the fight with Johnson riding a six-fight winning streak.