Just a few weeks ago, Midwest Training Center fighter Dan Stittgen got the call of a lifetime. The call was from the UFC, asking Stittgen to fight at UFC 143. Oddly enough, Stittgen was being asked to replace the only fighter to ever beat him in MMA.

The dream of fighting in the UFC will come true for Stittgen when he fights Stephen Thompson in Las Vegas this Saturday night. Thompson will also be making his UFC debut.

Stittgen is replacing Justin Edwards, who had to withdraw due to injury. Edwards submitted Stittgen back in January of 2010 in Wisconsin, the only blemish on his career record.

Since then he has rattled off four straight victories, including wins locally in Rockford and at XFO 39, where he tapped out Jason Graves just over a minute into the bout. Stittgen has also fought locally at TFC and Fight Club One. He made his amateur debut back at XFO 23.

Stittgen is coming of a majority decision win against Mark Stoddard at King of the Cage in Wisconsin, but he is best known as a submission specialist. Five of his seven pro wins have come by submission.

You can see Stittgen’s fight on Facebook this Saturday.

The UFC brings the Octagon to the United Center on Saturday night for UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis, and there are a ton of things going on all week. Check out our UFC in Chicago section for more news and interviews.

Main Card (Live on FOX)

Weidman vs. Maia
: Chris Weidman def. Demian Maia via unanimous decision
Evans vs. Davis

Sonnen vs. Bisping Chael Sonnen def. Michael Bisping via unanimous decision

LIVE RESULTS: PRELIMS

Camozzi vs. Jacoby: Camozzi wins via guillotine, 1:08, round 3

Beltran vs. Johnson: Lavar Johnson def. Joey Beltran via TKO-ref stoppage, 4:24 Rd. 1

Roller vs. Johnson: Michael Johnson def. Shane Roller via unanimous decision

Oliveira vs. Wisely: Charles Oliveira def. Eric Wisely 1:43, round 1, calf slicer

Swanson vs. RoopCub Swanson def. George Roop at 2:22, rd 2 TKO-Strikes

Russow vs. Einemo Mike Russow def. John Olav Einemo via unanimous decision

Dunham vs. LentzEvan Dunham def. Nik Lentz- TKO rd.2 5:00

But before Saturday night’s fights, Urijah Faber will host a seminar at MMA Stop in Crest Hill. Clay Guida is likely to be there, and Faber will also be signing autographs and taking pictures.

Faber’s Jiu-Jitsu coach Fabio Prado has been in town a few times for seminars at CounterStrike MMA, and now it’s Faber’s turn to teach Chicago MMA practitioners.  Details and registration info on the poster below.

Nice job, Chicago fight fans!

The UFC announced that its event on Saturday at the United Center is officially sold out. The UFC’s long-awaited return to Chicago is headlined by a light heavyweight No. 1 contender fight between former champion Rashad Evans and unbeaten Phil Davis. Middleweight contenders Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping collide for the right to fight champion Anderson Silva later this year, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia meets red-hot 185-pound prospect Chris Weidman.

This exciting tripleheader airs live on FOX at 7pm local time. Viewers can also watch all of the preliminary fights live on Fuel TV beginning at 4pm.

“The fans in Chicago have wanted us to come back there for a long time and they proved why it’s a great sports town by selling out the United Center,” UFC President Dana White said. “Get ready Chicago! We’re bringing a night of fights that you won’t forget!”

Check out the entire UFC on FOX card.

Fans can also take in the weigh-ins at the Chicago Theatre on Friday evening, as well as many other UFC-related events in Chicago throughout the week.

Before the fighters do battle in the Octagon Saturday night at the United Center, there are plenty of other UFC-related events and activities happening around town.

Weigh-ins for UFC on FOX: Evans vs. Davis will take place Friday at The Chicago Theatre, near the corner of State and Lake. The actual weigh-ins begin at 4pm Chicago time, and the general public is invited.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will host a Q&A session for UFC Fight Club members prior to the weigh-ins. If you are a UFC Fight Club member, doors open at 1pm. Jones will start his session at 2pm. Non-UFC Fight Club members will be allowed to enter at 3pm.

Other events:

• Party with Arianny Celeste- UFC ring girl and model Arianny Celeste will be at two events. She’ll be at The Lodge in Four Lakes in Lisle on Thursday from 9-11pm. She’ll be there for a calendar signing, which will be on sale at the event, and she’ll be available for pictures and autographs. Fight Chix apparel will also be on sale at the event.Then on Friday, Arianny will be at Proof Chicago, for a party hosted by Anthony Van Morre, Fight Chix, and Jaco. Arianny is hosting Proof’s pre-party for the UFC fight. Click the link above for more info.
• Big John McCarthy Seminar – McCarthy is coming to Emerald Smoke MMA for a 3-day course on judging MMA bouts. After the course, all the applicants that pass are put on a certification list that is available to all athletic commissions. Hit the link for registration and event info.
• Joe Rogan in Concert – UFC analyst Joe Rogan will take a short break after the weigh-ins and then perform a stand-up show at the Chicago Theatre. Tickets are still available at the link above. ESPN Chicago has already given away tickets to the show, and I’m told that some time this week they will be giving away more tickets.

More events will be posted here as they are made available. Check out our UFC in Chicago section for more news and interviews.

Pat Curran will get to fight for the Bellator featherweight title fairly close to Team Curran’s Crystal Lake location.  Curran will take on current Bellator Featherweight Champion “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren at The Venue at The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana on Friday, March 9. Tickets for this event go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Friday, January 20 and are available at The Horseshoe Casino, Ticketmaster, www.thevenue-chicago.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

The event will broadcast starting at 7 p.m. CT on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. CT, with the first fight scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CT.

“Everything is falling into place right now,” Curran said. “My hometown is really close to where I’m fighting and I know I’ll have the support of my family and friends. This is something that is meant to be.”

Even though Curran admits he will have the “home-cage advantage” on March 9, the 24-year-old Crystal Lake native knows the challenge that is right in front of him.

“Even though he’s coming off a loss, he’s a very dangerous opponent,” Curran said of Warren. “He is a very strong wrestler who’s going to try to close the distance and work the clinch against me. I’m looking forward to a great fight.”

After a one-fight stint at Bantamweight, Joe Warren is back defending his Bellator Featherweight championship. Winner of his last five Featherweight fights, the 35-year-old Denver product has the experience and the cage savvy to bust up Curran’s homecoming party.

“The Midwest is known for great fighters and great fight fans,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “To be hosting an event of this magnitude in our backyard is like Christmas morning; plus you get to see Chicagoland’s own, rising superstar Pat Curran vie for the World Title against one of the toughest fighters in all of MMA – Joe Warren. As a diehard MMA fan, I can’t wait for March 9^th to get here at Horseshoe.”

Also on this big night in Hammond, the Season 6 Featherweight Tournament kicks off as Season 5 finalist Marlon Sandro  takes on Roberto Vargas. A member of the renowned Team Nova Uniao, the 19-3 Sandro is widely regarded as one of the top featherweights in the world. With seven of his 19 wins coming via KO/TKO and three by submission, don’t blink when the dangerous Brazilian enters the Bellator cage. A former wrestler at Cal-State Bakersfield, Vargas has used his wrestling pedigree and parlayed that success into a 12-1 mixed martial arts record with three knockouts and four submissions.

Born in Thailand and raised in England, the UK’s best featherweight Ronnie Mann has the talent and drive to make a deep run in this season’s tournament. A tenacious standup fighter with 10 submission victories on his record, the 20-4 fighter has possibly his toughest test to date when he takes on dangerous veteran Wagnney Fabiano. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former WEC fighter holds an impressive 14-3 record and adds another true contender to this season’s featherweight tournament.

Top featherweight prospect Alexandre “PoPo” Bezerra enters his first Bellator tournament and will face stiff competition in his quarterfinal matchup as the 12-1 submission ace battles fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva. “Junior PDQ” is coming off an impressive victory at Bellator 52, and will be looking to carry that momentum into the tournament on March 9

XFO veteran Daniel Straus returns to the Bellator cage after nearly a year. Straus made a dominant run through the Season 4 Featherweight Tournament, only being stopped by eventual tournament Champion Patricio Pitbull in the finals. When the Ohio native steps into the cage on March 9, it will be against the undefeated Jeremy Spoon, who brings a spotless 12-0 record to the cage, including eight submission victories.

Arianny Celeste is coming to Chicago for the UFC on Fox event at the United Center, and you’ll have a few chances to meet her during fight week.

Fight Chix is hosting two events with Arianny, the first being at The Lodge in Four Lakes on Thursday the 26th from 9-11pm. She’ll be there for a calendar signing, which will be on sale at the event, and she’ll be available for pictures and autographs. Fight Chix apparel will also be on sale at the event.

The Lodge in Four Lakes is located at 5750 Lakeside Drive in Lisle, and you can get more info on the Facebook event page.

Then on Friday the 27th, Arianny will be at Proof Chicago, for a party hosted by Anthony Van Morre, Fight Chix, and Jaco. Arianny is hosting Proof’s pre-party for the UFC fight.

There are be special VIP tickets available that will allow you into the Proof Penthouse to hang with Arianny and get some pics from 10-11pm. The party goes from 10pm until 4am. Click here for ticket info, and you can contact Proof Night Club Chicago.

UFC hall of famer Matt Hughes will be on hand for Rumble on the River at the Cliffbreakers Resort in Rockford. Clay Goodman and Todd Green are celebrating their 10th anniversary of promoting MMA events, and they are bringing in the MMA legend for the occasion.

Hughes will also be appearing at Max Muscle during the day and then he’ll take in the fights later that evening.

The event will take place in the Grand Ballroom at Cliffbreakers Resort, 700 W. Riverside Blvd. in Rockford on April 21.

Many of the area’s top local fighters compete in the “Rumble” events. Will Brooks, Kenny Booker, Damian Norris, Tom Butler, Josh Labree, Kent Rexford, Vince Ramos and Andrew Navickis are just a few of the names that have fought on the cards.

We’ll have more information on the card and how to purchase tickets as it becomes available.

Title Shot Management fighter Sean Loeffler has signed with the UFC and will make his debut on February 15th on the first UFC on Fuel card.

“I’ve been fighting for over a decade, always taking risks and going in the cage to finish fights. I plan on shaking up the division, starting with February 15th,” Loeffler told Chicago’s MMA.

Finishing fights is something he  has done an an astounding rate. Loeffler, 29, holds a professional record of 25-5. Only one of his victories has come by decision, along with 11 knockouts and 13 submissions. He has won six straight fights, all of them finished in the very first round.

“Sean has finished 24 of his 25 Wins by KO or Submission. That’s rare. I figured if the UFC isn’t impressed by that, I don’t know what they want,” said Dave Zalewski, CEO of Title Shot Management.

It’s no wonder then that Loeffler goes by the nickname of “The Destroyer”. In his six straight wins, five of them were ended within the first minute of the fight. He needed just :07 to knockout Marquis McKnight at Gladiator Challenge last September.

MMA Weekly reports that Loeffler will take on another UFC newcomer, Buddy Roberts, although the promotion has not made that bout official as of yet.

Duneland Vale Tudo’s Keith Wisniewski has been slated to fight at UFC 145 in Canada. Wisniewski will battle Chris Clements on March 24 in a welterweight match during the prelim fights, as reported by Matt Erickson of NWITimes.com.

This will be the second fight of Wisniewski’s second stint with the promotion. He made his return to the UFC against Josh Neer at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson in October, losing via TKO after a doctor stoppage due to cuts.

After the first round of that fight, Neer told his corner that he thought Wisniewski broke his ribs after a hard body shot, but he pressed on. He proceeded to land the elbows that would stop the fight in round two. Wisniewski wanted to keep fighting.

“I thought that I could have continued and both myself and my cornerman lobbied the doctor to allow the fight to continue,” Wisniewski told Chicago’s MMA. “I felt that the doctor didn’t take a very close look at the cuts before deciding to stop the fight, as he made the call without ever coming over to me to actually inspect the cuts. That being said, I took over 20 stitches total on four different cuts and two staples on my scalp. The cut over my left eye was long and fairly deep. I’d like to have seen the fight continue, but it’s hard to argue that the doctor decision to stop the bout didn’t have any merit.”

Clements, who hails from Ontario, will be making his first appearance in the UFC at age 35. He owns a career record of 10-4, and has fought tough vets like John Alessio, Jonathan Goulet and Rich Clementi. He also had one fight in the IFL, getting stopped via TKO by Rory Markham in the first round.

Wisniewski, 30, had a 6-fight winning streak stopped by Neer in October. He holds a 28-13-1 professional record, and previously fought in the UFC at UFC 56, losing to Nick Thompson via decision.

Wisniewski has been fighting locally since 1998. He fought Jeff Curran and Joey Gilbert when they were both still amateurs. He fought Shonie Carter back in 1999, and fought on the same JKD Challenge 3 card as Matt Hughes. He has fought in HFC, XFO, C3, Cut Throat MMA, TFC and Ironheart Crown.

Wisniewski and his brother Justin are also promoters, putting on the Duneland Classic events. Those events have featured local fighters such as Eddie Wineland, Dan Hornbuckle, John Kolosci, Josh Shockley, Yusup Saadulaev, Darren Elkins and Kevin Knabjian.