Former TUF'ers return to Octagon

A light heavyweight bout has been added to the UFC's upcoming return to Montreal as The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 submission specialist Eliot Marshall gets back in the Octagon for the first time since the finale show to take on Mike Ciesnolevicz on April 18.

The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight who indicated the bout has been agreed upon and bout agreements should be issued shortly.

Marshall was an early favorite to do well during the eighth season of the Ultimate Fighter. He did not disappoint after a quick submission win over Shane Primm. Marshall returned for the semifinals, but dropped a decision to eventual show winner Ryan Bader, but then made a successful return in the final show submitting former housemate Jules Bruchez in the first round.

Training with his team in Colorado as well as Greg Jackson's team in New Mexico, Marshall comes into this fight on the heels of helping teammates like Nate Marquardt and Shane Carwin during their camps and now he gets ready for a fight of his own.

His opponent, Ciesnolevicz, will return to the 205-pound weight class after moving up to heavyweight for his UFC debut in February.

The former IFL fighter made a great impression in his first fight in the Octagon, submitting British heavy hitter Neil Grove with a heel hook early in the first round of their matchup.

The bout between Marshall and Ciesnolevicz will be part of the untelevised portion of the pay-per-view broadcast that will boast a main event pitting middleweight champion Anderson Silva against Thales Leites.

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There has been a late addition to the upcoming UFC Fight Night 18 card, as former The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 competitor Tim Credeur returns to action to face New Jersey native Nick Catone. The middleweight bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com early on Thursday.

According to sources close to the fight, both fighters have agreed to the matchup and bout agreements should be signed in the next few days.

Winner in his last five fights, Credeur looks to build upon an impressive win in his last fight as he took out David Terrell student Nate Loughran at the UFC Fight for the Troops show in December.

The former member of the Navy showed a much improved stand-up game that flustered Loughran at every point in the fight, and Credeur picked up the win after his opponent couldn't continue following the second round.

Nick Catone will look to keep his undefeated record in tact when he faces Credeur in his second UFC fight, following two cancelled bouts he had scheduled against Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah.

Following an injury to Sadollah in November, Catone's UFC debut was pushed back to February where he was scheduled to face the same opponent, but an unfortunate incident pushed Sadollah out of the fight again.

Utah fighter Derek Downey replaced Sadollah, but Catone did a great job of adjusting to the new opponent and he was able to win by submission in the second round of their fight.

Now Catone looks to keep his winning streak alive against a very tough and game opponent in Credeur.

The announcement of this fight comes on the heels of Wednesday's news that Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero was forced off the card with a rib injury as the UFC tries to secure a new opponent for Jeremy Stephens.