‘Mayhem’ Meets Simpson in Octagon Return at UFC 132

---

It didn’t take long for Jason Miller to get his return assignment from the UFC.

Word broke on Friday that “Mayhem” had inked a new, multi-fight deal to rejoin the Zuffa fold. On Saturday, the promotion announced that the 30-year-old middleweight will reenter the Octagon against former collegiate wrestling standout Aaron Simpson at UFC 132.

Set to take place July 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, UFC 132 will be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Dominick Cruz and the man responsible for the only loss on Cruz’s ledger, fellow world-ranked 135-pounder Urijah Faber.

A 10-year veteran of the sport, Miller has competed only once before in the UFC, dropping a unanimous decision to current welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre in April 2005. Since that time, the eccentric ground specialist has gone 12-3, with wins over the likes of Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy and Hiromitsu Miura.

Following a five-round decision loss to Jake Shields for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title in November 2009, Miller competed only twice in 2010. After notching a first-round technical knockout of Tim Stout in the Strikeforce cage last April, the “Bully Beatdown” host submitted aging Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba under the Dream banner in September.

Simpson, 36, comes from a strong wrestling background and was a two-time NCAA Div. I All-American at Arizona State University. Now situated at Power MMA alongside fellow ex-Sun Devils Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway, the “A-Train” holds an 8-2 career record (including six TKO wins) and a 4-2 mark inside the Octagon. Following back-to-back losses to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz in the second half of 2010, Simpson rebounded on March 26 with a unanimous decision win over Mario Miranda at UFC Fight Night 24.