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According to a report by MMA Opinion, nine fighters have been given their release by UFC officials.

The fighters are Chad Griggs, Nick Penner, Marcus LeVesseur, John Cofer, Joey Gambino, Jeff Hougland, Jared Papazian, Yasuhiro Urushitani and Henry Martinez.

The reason behind the moves likely has to do with the recent import of several Strikeforce fighters. Strikeforce closed up shop earlier this month, and the UFC has already announced several additions to the active roster from the promotion.

Combined the nine fighters posted a 3-19 record in their UFC careers. Urushitani was brought over as part of the first-ever UFC flyweight tournament last year.

Phil Davis was scheduled to welcome Chad Griggs to the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Instead, “Mr. Wonderful” will now be meeting UFC newcomer Wagner Prado, as Griggs was forced out with an injury.

AMR Group, who represents Prado, confirmed the change with MMA Weekly’s Damon Martin. They said bout agreements are in place for the August 4 UFC on FOX 4 card.

Prado (7-0) is a member of Team Nogueira out of Brazil. He has been featured as one of the top 205-pound prospects in the world.

Davis will be making his return to action following a loss to Rashad Evans earlier this year.

Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

Phil Davis will look to rebound from his first career loss in August when he takes on Chad Griggs.

The UFC announced the bout Monday for the August 4 UFC on FOX 4 card. The event will take place in Los Angeles, with Hector Lombard vs. Brian Stann set as the main event.

Davis (9-1) lost earlier this year to Rashad Evans, halting his five-fight UFC win streak.

“Mr. Wonderful” is a former wrestling standout at Penn State University, securing All-American status for each year he was there. Davis also won the 2008 197-pound NCAA title.

Griggs (11-2) lost his UFC debut to Travis Browne after coming over from Strikeforce. This will be his first fight at light heavyweight since joining the UFC as a heavyweight fighter.

Griggs, also known as “The Grave Digger,” had his six-fight win streak snapped by Browne. His last loss prior was to Shane Ott in 2007.

Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog

UFC 145 takes place later tonight at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The event airs live on Pay-Per-View. The prelims will precede the PPV broadcast at 7pm ET on the UFC’s Facebook Page and 8pm ET on FX or Rogers Sportsnet.

In the main event, light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones finally takes on former friend and longtime rival “Suga” Rashad Evans.

In the co-feature, Rory MacDonald returns to the octagon after an extended layoff to take on Che Mills.

Heavyweights Brendan Schaub and Ben Rothwell meet, as both attempt to get back on track.

In a potential bantamweight title eliminator, Miguel Angel Torres takes on exciting prospect Michael McDonald.

Featherweight Mark Hominick attempts to rebound from his tough loss at UFC 140 as he takes on always tenacious Eddie Yagin

And rounding out the main card, lightweight John Alessio returns to the octagon, where he faces a tough welcoming committee in Mark Bocek.

Results and recap after the jump.

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Facebook, FX, Pay-Per-View, who cares? Following a solid performance at last week’s UFC on FUEL 2, the UFC is back again with their first big PPV event in quite awhile. UFC 145 goes down tomorrow from Atlanta, Georgia, following a move from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the main event, Jon Jones takes on Rashad Evans in the long-awaited light heavyweight title fight. Before any of that craziness goes down though, we have the six fight preliminary card to look forward to. Split between Facebook (at 7pm ET) and FX (8pm ET), we’ll be treated to what appears to be, on paper, one of the best preliminary cards in awhile. Here’s a quick preview of the six preliminary bouts. The preview of the main card will be up for your reading pleasure in the morning.

-Maximo Blanco vs. Marcus Brimage

It’s about time Maximo Blanco moved to featherweight. The ridiculously vicious striker may not have fared well against Pat Healy in Strikeforce, but to be fair, Healy is the ultimate hype train derailer. In Brimage, Blanco faces a solid test. The TUF alum is a solid striker in his own right and has no problem making decisions go his way if needed. Having said all of that, you have to feel bad for poor Marcus Brimage. Blanco has solid wrestling, and almost downright scary striking. I think Blanco takes Brimage’s head off in under five minutes.

-Chris Clements vs. Keith Wisniewski

The first of many Canadians on the card, Chris Clement, is a well-established knockout artist. While it seems there is some sort of “Team Tompkins Curse” since the untimely passing of its namesake, Clements has done well for himself, and will look for his fifth straight win here. Wisniewski was on such a roll until he ran into Josh Neer’s elbows. A solid striker, who is even better in the grappling department, enters this, his third UFC fight, still winless in the organization. This fight could very well be the fight of the night, or perhaps knockout of the night, because Wisniewski is getting stopped.

-Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero

Mac Danzig is on the edge. The TUF 6 winner is 2-5 in his last 7 bouts, including going 0-2 against Matt Wiman. With three quarters of his wins coming within the distance, the Fight Science lightweight still proves a tough fight for just about anyone. Just look at what he did to Joe Stevenson. Escudero had a tough Christmas, or at least a very tough time against “Christmas” in his last outing. Despite that, Efrain has put together some very solid wins over the last two years. This fight likely determines whose Zuffa career is coming to an end. I just don’t see things going well for Danzig here, he’ll likely drop a decision, and be yet another TUF winner on his way out of the promotion.

-John Makdessi vs. Anthony Njokuani

I still can’t get Makdessi’s spinning back fist knockout over Kyle Watson out of my mind. While he ran into a brick wall named Dennis Hallman, “The Bull” is a solid Tristar product, who has a great training camp and an ever-growing skill-set to his credit. Njokuani always has a place in my heart (WEC NEVER DIE!), and his scrappy, yet technically proficient style is fun to watch. Neither man has much of a chance against solid wrestlers or grapplers, but thankfully, this will be a slugfest. While Makdessi can absolutely knock Njokuani out cold with a solid shot, if the latter gets reckless. I think the WEC veteran keeps Makdessi guessing with some takedowns and rangy strikes. Njokuani is taking home the decision win.

-Matt Brown vs. Stephen Thompson

Matt Brown is amazing. He may not be the best fighter, but he has managed to remain employed inside the octagon for a long time, and he made incredibly short work of Chris Cope, so I’m a fan. The ‘Karate Kid’ over here, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, takes a big step up in competition here, and hopes to remain undefeated in the UFC, following his highlight reel head kick knockout of Dan Stittgen not too long ago. I imagine this fight actually goes the distance, which should be a good test for Thompson. His keys to victory are body kicks, keeping the veteran at bay, and scoring points, as opposed to looking for that big knockout. Should he be able to avoid the ground, and I think he will, he should win this.

-Travis Browne vs. Chad Griggs

Undefeated Travis Browne is awesome. When he superman punched Stefan Struve’s head off, I needed someone to towel me off. While in his most recent appearance, he was less than stellar to watch, Travis Browne is still better than most of the mid-tier heavyweights in MMA. I mean, he’s not Eric Prindle. Chad Griggs is hoping to play spoiler again with those damn mutton chops. A fan favourite, who is tough, has heavy hands, and beat Bobby Lashley, Griggs considered dropping to 205, but opted to participate in more ‘HEAVYWEIGHT MMA!!!!!’ Griggs is a good dude, but not really a great fighter. Browne is a considerably better fighter, and I think Griggs is being overvalued in this fight. I suspect Browne has his way with him, but not in some spectacularly violent fashion, I think he wins a decision.

Well, it is now official.

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and No. 1 contender Rashad Evans each weighed in successfully Friday afternoon, making their title contest at UFC 145 Saturday night official.

Jones will be looking to defend his title for a third time, having already defeated former champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida. For Evans, he’ll be seeking to capture his second UFC light heavyweight title.

In the co-main event, Rory MacDonald and Che Mills will square off, while heavyweights Brendan Schaub and Ben Rothwell collide in another key main card contest.

UFC 145: JONES VS. EVANS WEIGH-IN RESULTS

Main Card (PPV)

•  Jon Jones (205 lbs.) vs. Rashad Evans (204 lbs.) for Jones’ light heavyweight title

•  Rory MacDonald (169.5 lbs.) vs. Che Mills (170 lbs.)

•  Brendan Schaub (237 lbs.) vs. Ben Rothwell (263 lbs.)

•  Miguel Angel Torres (135.5 lbs.) vs. Michael McDonald (135 lbs.)

•  Mark Hominick (145.5 lbs.) vs. Eddie Yagin (144.5 lbs.)

•  Mark Bocek (155 lbs.) vs. John Alessio (155.5 lbs.)

Preliminary Card (FX)

•  Travis Browne (250 lbs.) vs. Chad Griggs (228 lbs.)

•  Matt Brown (171 lbs.) vs. Stephen Thompson (171 lbs.)

•  John Makdessi (158 lbs.)* vs. Anthony Njokuani (156 lbs.)

•  Mac Danzig (155 lbs.) vs. Efrain Escudero (156 lbs.)

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

•  Keith Wisniewski (170.5 lbs.) vs. Chris Clements (169 lbs.)

•  Marcus Brimage (145 lbs.) vs. Maximo Blanco (146 lbs.)

*Makdessi will surrender 20 percent of his purse to Njokuani

Check out Esther Lin’s full UFC 145 weigh-ins photo gallery at MMAFighting.com. Weigh-in highlights via MMA Fighting and the UFC.

From Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani talks with UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt about the #RallyForMarkHunt movement. Also on the show, Marcus Brimage and Chad Griggs discuss their upcoming fights inside the octagon.

For more clips from this episode of the MMA Hour, and many more, check out MMAFighting.com.

More segments after the jump.

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Chad Griggs’ UFC debut is set.

The UFC announced over the weekend that Griggs will meet Travis Browne in Montreal at UFC 145.

The UFC debut of former Strikeforce standout Chad Griggs is set, as he puts his six fight winning streak on the line at UFC 145 in March against unbeaten Travis Browne in a Montreal bout that has been verbally agreed to by both combatants.

Griggs has had an impressive run as of late, but he knows that’s going to have to prove himself all over again now that he’s finally made it to the big show.

“I’m going to a new league, so you’ve got to reestablish yourself and prove that you deserve to be there. It’s like going to a new school, I guess. You want to fit in and do well, but at the same time I think they want to see me do well and they know I put on some good shows, so they’re not sending me into the slaughter. They’re giving me some respect.”

“I’m going to try and make some waves,” he added. “Just put my head down and swing.”

Joe Silva definitely didn’t throw him a softball in his first outing, but if we learned anything about Griggs in Strikeforce, it’s to never count him out.

Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Following last week’s announcement that Strikeforce would be dissolving their heavyweight division for the coming year, word has come that Strikeforce heavyweights Chad Griggs and Lavar Johnson will be moving over to the UFC.

MMA Weekly has the report on Griggs.

The migration of former Strikeforce heavyweights to the UFC continues as Chad Griggs has signed a new deal to move over to the UFC in 2012.

Sources close to the fighter confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that Griggs will move to the UFC and begin fighting there in the new year.

It’s unknown exactly where and when Griggs will make his UFC debut, however Lavar Johnson already has a fight scheduled. The UFC has confirmed that Johnson will take on Joey Beltran at UFC on FOX 2 in his first UFC fight.

Less than one week after UFC president Dana White announced that Strikeforce would no longer be promoting heavyweight contests, UFC executives today announced Lavar Johnson (15-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been imported to the UFC and will meet Joey Beltran (13-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

The two heavyweights will clash at UFC on FOX 2, which takes place Jan. 28 at Chicago’s United Center.

The night’s main card airs on FOX, but Beltran vs. Johnson is expected to take place on the evening’s preliminary card.

Griggs and Johnson aren’t the only ones making the move. MMA Weekly reported last week that Fabricio Werdum had re-signed with the UFC and would face Roy Nelson at UFC 143. The UFC still hasn’t made it official, however both Werdum and Nelson both confirmed it today, so an announcement is likely imminent.

I may be missing a few, but that still leaves Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier.

Silva, who is currently recovering from shoulder surgery, hopes to make the jump next year as well, however there hasn’t been any movement on that front as of yet.

Barnett and Cormier are expected to meet in the Heavyweight Grand Prix finals in March. The winner will then fight one more time on Showtime against a “top heavyweight.” I would assume the winner would then move to the UFC, but that’s still unclear.

All in all, it looks like the Strikeforce heavyweights are moving on to bigger and better things. Bet Gilbert Melendez wishes he was about a 100 pounds heavier.

A few observations from Strikeforce: “Overeem vs. Werdum”:

-Chad Griggs, a.k.a. “King Muttonchops”, is like the Little Engine That Could.  Of course, last night that “could” involved nothing more than beating up someone who looked like they didn’t really want to be there, but hey, that’s something, right?  Right?

-Jeff Monson: takes a licking but keeps on… taking a licking.  (Google “Timex watches” if you don’t know where that slogan is from, kid.)

-The beauty of Jorge Masvidal’s striking game is how seamlessly he blends his kicks – particularly the high-kicks – with his punches and overall movement.  Also beautiful: how he can sometimes DESTROY people with it.

-I had no problem with Josh Barnett taking the microphone and giving a pro-wrestling-esque post-fight speech.  Beats the hell out of the usual drivel that comes out a fighters’ mouths.

-The following words apply to the bout between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum: lackluster, underwhelming, embarrassing, ridiculous, shameful, disgraceful, silly.  Feel free to use these words as talking points at your next Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix cocktail party.