9 Fights Greenlit for UFC 120

French striker Cheick Kongo will meet the unbeaten Travis Browne in a featured heavyweight matchup at UFC 120 “Bisping vs. Akiyama” on Oct. 16 at the O2 Arena in London. Nine bouts are now official for the event, which will air via same-day tape delay on Spike TV.

Kongo snapped a two-fight losing streak in March, as he struck Paul Buentello into third-round submission at UFC Live 1 in Broomfield, Colo. Wins against Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk, Brazilian veteran Assuerio Silva and 2006 Pride Fighting Championships open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic highlight the 35-year-old’s resume. Kongo has delivered nine of his 15 wins by knockout or technical knockout.

Perfect as a professional, the 6-foot-7, 251-pound Browne has finished nine of his 10 foes, five of them in less than half a minute. He made his promotional debut at “The Ultimate Fighter 11” Finale in June, as he stopped James McSweeney on first-round punches. Browne trains at the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., alongside UFC veteran Brandon Vera and World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Meanwhile, former WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell will return to the cage for the first time in more than a year when he locks horns with undefeated Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov.

Cantwell will carry a two-fight losing streak into the match, his first since a unanimous decision defeat to Brian Stann at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. The 23-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt has delivered all seven of his wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Cantwell has battled an undisclosed illness for months.

Unbeaten as a professional, Nedkov has finished eight of his 11 opponents inside the first round. The 28-year-old Sengoku veteran last appeared in May, when he submitted Augustin Helgiu under the Bulgarian MMA Federation banner. Nedkov owns wins against Pride veteran Travis Wiuff and former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman.

In another light heavyweight tilt, surging French kickboxer Cyrille Diabate will toe the line against once-beaten Swedish prospect Alexander Gustafsson.

Diabate will carry a six-fight winning streak into the match. The 36-year-old put away Luis Arthur Cane with first-round punches in his promotional debut at UFC 114 three months ago. Diabate has been knocked out only once -- by current UFC light heavyweight king Mauricio “Shogun” Rua -- in 23 professional appearances.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Gustafsson finds himself on the rebound for the first time, as he submitted to a Phil Davis anaconda choke at UFC 112 in April. The 23-year-old has posted seven of his nine career victories by knockout or technical knockout. Only one of Gustafsson’s 10 professional bouts has reached the judges.

Other matches greenlit for UFC 120 include a light heavyweight duel pairing McSweeney with Tom Blackledge, a heavyweight tilt pitting Rob Broughton against Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz and a lightweight bout between Spencer Fisher and Curt Warburton.

A middleweight matchup pairing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping with Yoshihiro Akiyama will headline UFC 120, along with a key welterweight battle between Dan Hardy and former WEC champion Carlos Condit. In addition, undefeated British export John Hathaway will take on Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts veteran Mike Pyle at 170 pounds.

UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama
Saturday, Oct. 16
O2 Arena
London

Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle
Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz
Steve Cantwell vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Spencer Fisher vs. Curt Warburton
James McSweeney vs. Tom Blackledge
* James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick
* Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst

* Not Official