Riley, Nelson to battle in Columbus

By Damon Martin, MMAWeekly.com

Shane Nelson (above) has been training with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn in Hawaii. Courtesy of Zuffa  Cain: Neer still fighting at 'Fight Night'  Martin: Johnson-Fioravanti on Feb. 17  Martin: Maynard vs. Miller at UFC 96

As the UFC gets ready to return to the Buckeye state on March 7 another fight has been confirmed. Season 8 Ultimate Fighter cast member Shane Nelson returns to action to face veteran fighter Aaron Riley in a lightweight matchup. The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday by several sources close to the fight.

Training in Hawaii with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn, "Sugar" Shane Nelson was a favorite in the early going to make it far during the eighth season of the reality show, but he suffered a loss against eventual show winner Efrain Escudero in a quarterfinal match-up.

Never to be deterred from his UFC dream, Nelson returned at the show's finale in December and knocked off former housemate George Roop by decision.

Now the young Hawaiian gets to step right into deep water against a crafty veteran in Aaron Riley, who has been in close to 40 professional bouts during his career.

In his return fight to the UFC, Riley picked up fight of the night honors along with a unanimous decision win over Jorge Gurgel in November.

It's unknown at this time if the fight between Nelson and Riley will make the main card, but it's likely to end up on the preliminary portion of the show.

UFC 96 takes place on March 7 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It will be the third consecutive year the promotion has put on an event in the area.

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