Former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown will face TUF 12 alum Nam Phan at UFC 133 on August 6th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 145-pound matchup was announced by the UFC earlier today. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight, which joins an already impressive card.

Brown has struggled in recent outings after losing his WEC title to current champion Jose Aldo in November of 2009. He has dropped back-to-back fights and a third loss could spell the end of Brown’s UFC tenure. Phan last fought in December and lost a controversial decision to Leonard Garcia.

Brown (24-8-0) won seven straight fights from 2006 to mid-2008, and the winning streak earned him a shot at then-champion Urijah Faber at WEC 36. Taking advantage of a Faber mistake, Brown dropped and finished the popular Californian in the first round to capture the title. He would go on to make two successful title defences, including one in a rematch with Faber, before losing the belt to Aldo. Since that time, Brown is 2-3 and his struggles have been attributed to personal issues. Now refocused, he will need to be at his best in August if he wishes to remain in the UFC.

Phan (16-8-0) may have lost the decision to Garcia last year, but he became an instant fan favourite as observers were in near-universal agreement that he had been robbed by the cageside judges. Phan had been set to rematch Garcia in March, but was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. He instead watched as Garcia was defeated by another past rival, Chan Sung Jung, via the rare Twister submission. Phan is an even 4-4 in his last eight bouts, but has faced tough opposition along the way. The bout with Brown will be another solid test.

UFC 133 takes place on August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While not yet officially announced, the event is expected to be headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jose “Scarface” Aldo and Chad “Money” Mendes.

UFC 133 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Jose “Scarface” Aldo vs Chad “Money” Mendes (UFC Featherweight Championship) [*]
– “Suga” Rashad Evans vs Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
– Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
– Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– Johnny Hendricks vs Mike Pierce
– Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Mike Brown vs Nam Phan
– Michael “Mayday” McDonald vs Nick Pace
– Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Dennis “Superman” Hallman
– Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Riki Fukuda

*Not yet officially announced.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)