Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard face off at Ultimate Fight Night 13

It will be a battle for the lightweight belt and a battle of the big men as UFC 125 heads to Las Vegas on Jan. 1, 2011.

The UFC on Thursday officially announced the New Year’s Day card, which will be headlined by UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defending his title against top contender Gray Maynard, while former champion Shane Carwin gets back in action to face former “Ultimate Fighter” winner Roy Nelson.

The UFC made the announcement via its “Ultimate Insider” show.

For Edgar the fight with Maynard is not only his second official title defense, but also is his shot at redemption.  Maynard holds the only win over Edgar in his career, and the two lightweights will scrap again, this time with UFC gold on the line.

After being seconds away from taking home the UFC heavyweight title, Carwin looks to get back on track in his quest to get another shot at that belt when he faces Nelson in a heavyweight tilt in the co-main event for the UFC 125 card.

Carwin posted a message about the fight on his website, Shane-Carwin.com, just moments after the news was announced on “Ultimate Insider.”

“I think Roy is a tough opponent for anyone.  He has been in several main event situations and has fought a lot of veterans in the sport.  I am honored to be fighting again and feel like Roy is a worthy opponent,” said Carwin.

“My goal for the fight is to be exciting and go home with the win.  I have a lot to prove as does Roy so this should make for a great fight.”

Nelson is coming off of a loss to Junior Dos Santos and knee surgery, but plans on being healthy by fight time.

The UFC also revealed the lightweight fight between the always-exciting Clay Guida as he faces off with former Pride champion Takanori Gomi in a main card bout in January.

More fights are expected to be confirmed by the UFC in the coming weeks for the New Year’s Day card.