12-year MMA veteran Vladimir Matyushenko will face TUF 8 cast member and Denver native Eliot Marshall in a light-heavyweight bout slated for the un-aired preliminary portion of the UFC Fight Night 21 card on March 21 at The Odeum Colorado in Broomfield, Co.

The UFC made the bout official today as well as a previously reported welterweight bout between Anthony Johnson and John Howard.

UFC Fight Night 21 is headlined by a explosive light-heavyweight bout between talented prospect Jon Jones and highly regarded contender Brandon Vera.

Matyushenko (23-4) was originally set to face Steve Cantwell at UFC 108 on Jan. 2, however, Cantwell was forced off of the event last minute for undisclosed reasons. Matyushenko was used as in a stand-in in case anyone got injured in the few days leading up to UFC 108 but was removed from the card altogether as no one was injured.

Matyushenko is 10-1 in his last 11 bouts, most recently picking up his second straight win by defeating UFC newcomer Igor Pokrajac in his Octagon return at UFC 103 in September. His lone loss over the successful stretch came against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" last January.

"The Janitor" holds a 4-2 UFC record, which includes a 3-2 previous stint with the promotion from June 2001 to Sept. 2003. He sports notable Octagon wins over Yuki Kondo, Travis Wiuff and Pedro Rizzo, while suffering UFC losses against Tito Ortiz and Andrei Arlovski.

Marshall has won his last three bouts, picking up wins in his first three UFC contests against Jules Bruchez, Vinny Magalhaes and most recently Jason Brilz also at September's UFC 103. Prior to the wins, he suffered his first career loss against former UFC fighter Rob MacDonald in December 2007.

Marshall, who trains with fellow Denver fighters Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub and Shane Carwin, has competed the majority of his three-year career with Ring of Fire, fighting six of his nine career bouts with the Colorado-based organization. He sports a nearly perfect 8-1 MMA record, with six of his eight career wins being by stoppage including five coming by submission.