(Jimmo will trade his precious metal to finally test his mettle in the UFC)

The UFC announced today that it has signed Maximum Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion and CagePotato guest blogger Ryan Jimmo to face Czech wrestler Karlos Vemola on the inaugural UFC on FX 1 card January 20 in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The Big Deal” will put his 16-fight undefeated streak on the line as he steps into the Octagon for the first time against Vemola, who is 1-1 in two UFC starts.

We spoke with Ryan today, and as expected, he was ecstatic about “the big deal,”  but couldn’t disclose any of the details of his new multi-fight contract as per Zuffa policy.

“I’m very happy and excited to be joining the UFC and to be given this opportunity to prove myself on the world’s biggest stage. I started training 27-years ago with my father and have worked very hard to get to where I am. I’d like to thank Joe Silva, Dana White and the Fertittas for giving me my shot and everyone who helped me achieve this goal including my manager Bobby, all of my sponsors, training partners, family, friends, and Mark and the MFC for helping me get here,” Jimmo said. “Without all of their help and support I never would have gotten to where I am. Karlos Vemola is a stiff test for my first UFC fight and I’m going to make sure I entertain the fans and put on a great fight on January 20.”

A handful of other match-ups for the event, which will be headlined by a lightweight tilt between Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard, were announced for the card, bringing the number of scheduled bouts to eight.

UFC on FX 1
Saturday, January 20, 2012
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee

Jim Miller vs. Melvin Guillard
Eric “Red” Schafer vs. Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera
Josh ‘The Dentist’ Neer vs. Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig
Christian Morecraft vs. Pat ‘HD’ Barry.
Mike Brown vs. Vagner Rocha
Reza “Mad Dog” Madadi vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Ryan “Big Deal” Jimmo vs. Karlos Vemola.
Kamal Shalorus vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov