Jose Aldo official for UFC 129 slot; four additional contests set for Toronto

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will fight in Toronto.

UFC officials today announced on this week's edition of "UFC Ultimate Insider" that the WEC's final 145-pound champion will make his octagon debut at UFC 129, which takes place April 30 at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Aldo will face an opponent yet to be determined, though UFC president Dana White recently announced that if Mark Hominick is victorious at Saturday's UFC Fight Night 23 event, the Canadian slugger will earn the slot.

UFC 129 is headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and top contender Jake Shields.

In addition to the announced appearance by Aldo, UFC brass also officially added four more fights to the card: Phil Davis vs. Matt Hamill, Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson, Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen and Brian Foster vs. Sean Pierson.

All four fights were previously reported for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Aldo (18-1 MMA, 8-0 WEC) debuted for the WEC in June 2008 with a second-round TKO win over Shooto legend Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira.

Following five consecutive knockout wins to open his WEC run – including three in the first round – Aldo was granted a title shot against then-champion Mike Brown. Aldo halted Brown with strikes in the second round. Aldo then defended his belt twice with wins over Manny Gamburyan and Urijah Faber and is currently considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Aldo was expected to defend his belt for the first time at UFC 125, but injury forced the Brazilian to delay his octagon debut until April.

Davis (8-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion for Penn State, has made a smooth transition since his pro MMA debut in 2008. After signing with the UFC in early 2010, he extended his undefeated streak with decision wins over Brian Stann and Rodney Wallace and submission victories over Alexander Gustafsson and Tim Boetsch.

He now meets tested UFC veteran Hamill (10-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who enters the fight with a five-fight win streak. Although the streak includes a questionable DQ win over Jon Jones, his wins over Reese Andy, Mark Munoz, Keith Jardine and, most recently, Tito Ortiz came in much more decisive fashion.

Hamill, a cast member from "The Ultimate Fighter 3" and three-time NCAA Division III national champ, has only lost to former champ Rich Franklin and contender Michael Bisping during his career.

This past month at the promotion-ending WEC 53 card, Henderson (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision and lost his belt to Anthony Pettis. The defeat snapped a 10-fight win streak, which included a title win over Jamie Varner and a successful title defense over Donald Cerrone.

Bocek (9-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), meanwhile, looks for his fifth win in his past six UFC fights. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt's lone trip-up came to lightweight contender Jim Miller. Submission wins, meanwhile, have come over Alvin Robinson, David Bielkheden, Joe Brammer and Dustin Hazelett. The past two wins earned "Submission of the Night" bonus checks.

After a four-fight break from the UFC that saw him register three wins, MacDonald (24-14 MMA, 5-6 UFC) returned to the organization this past May at UFC 113, where he suffered a first-round TKO loss to John Salter due to a broken leg. MacDonald has been on the mend since the gruesome injury.

However, his latest UFC stint likely will end unless he's victorious at UFC 129; he lost his past three UFC fights going back to a December 2008 submission loss to Wilson Gouveia. Prior to the recent skid, the 35-year-old Canadian went 5-3 in the UFC with three "Submission of the Night" bonuses and a "KO of the Night" award.

Jensen (15-7 MMA, 2-5 UFC), too, is in his second UFC stint. After going 0-2 with submission losses to Thales Leites and Demian Maia in 2007, the 33-year-old return to the promotion in 2008 and is 2-3 while rotating between wins and losses. The victories have come over Steve Steinbess and Jesse Forbes while the defeats have come to Gouveia, Mark Munoz and Court McGee.

Six of Jensen's seven career losses have come via submission; meanwhile, 18 of MacDonald's 24 victories have come via submission.

After some less-than-cordial banter before the bout, Foster (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) submitted fellow tough guy Matt Brown at UFC 123. The victory, which followed a "Knockout of the Night" performance over Forrest Petz in September, marked his third win in four fights. The H.I.T. Squad fighter now owns stoppages (nine knockouts and six submissions) in all 15 of his career victories.

Pierson (11-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), meanwhile, made a successful UFC debut with a lopsided unanimous-decision win over Matthew Riddle at UFC 124. The victory extended the 11-year vet's current win streak to six.

After the fight, the Canadian was suspended from police training in Canada because officials felt his second job and nickname ("Pimp Daddy") would interfere with police duties. The would-be Toronto cop now fights professionally full-time.