UFC Fight Night 96 Card Taking Shape
UFC Fight Night 96 Card Taking Shape
UFC Fight Night 96 in Portland, Ore. has started to take shape as four bouts were announced on Monday afternoon.
A flyweight fight between the surging Louis Smolka and the always exciting Sergio Pettis has been added to UFC Fight Night 96 in Portland, Oregon. Fox Sports confirmed the new on Monday.
Smolka (11-1) will be looking improve on his four fight win streak. In his most outing, The scrappy Hawaiian earned a Performance of the Night bonus following his thrilling TKO win over Ben Ngyuen at UFC Fight Night 91. Smolka previously earned wins over Paddy Holohan, Neil Seery and Richie Vaculik.
Pettis (14-2), the younger brother of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, is coming off a decision win over Chris Kelades at UFC 197 in April. This pushed his win streak to two after defeating former title challenger Chris Cariaso at UFC 192.
In addition, a heavyweight fight between Walt Harris and Shamil Abdurakhimov as well as a middleweight contest between Tamdan McCrory and Nate Marquardt have also been added to the card.
Harris (8-4) recently finished highly touted prospect Cody East at UFC 197. The former football player turned mixed martial artist got back into the win column after finding himself on the receiving end of a violent TKO loss to Soa Palelei. His opponent, Abdurakhimov (16-3) will also be looking to earn his second straight win after earning a decision over Anthony Hamilton in February.
McCrory (14-4), a former Bellator standout, was last seen suffering a knockout loss to Krzysztof Jotko in June. This snapped 'The Barn Cat's' three fight win streak, which included stoppages over Josh Samman, Jason Butcher and Brennan Ward. Marquardt (34-16- 2), a former UFC title contender and Strikeforce champion, is coming off his own knockout loss to Thiago Santos in May. This marked six setback in his last eight bouts, and fourth TKO loss.
A pair lightweight bouts between Will Brooks vs. Alex Oliveira and Bobby Green vs. Josh Burkman have also been added to UFC Fight Night 96 in Portland, Oregon.
Brooks (19-1), the former Bellator lightweight champion, had previously expressed interest in appearing on the October card. "IllWill" most recently earned decision in UFC debut against Ross Pearson at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale last month. Prior to this, Brooks dominated Bellator's 155-pound, which included a pair of wins over current champion Michael Chandler.
For Oliveira (15-3- 1) this will make his return to the lightweight division after a pair of matchups at welterweight. In his last fight, fans saw "Cowboy" pick up decision win over James Moontasri at UFC on FOX 20. This got him back into the win column after being submitted by a "Cowboy" in Donald Cerrone in February.
Green (23-7 MMA) is in desperate need of a victory after finding himself on the receiving end a violent knockout to Dustin Poirier at UFC 199. This marked his second straight loss after losing to Edson Barboza in 2014. His loss to Barboza snapped his eight fight win streak, which included victories over Josh Thomson, Pat Healy and James Krause.
Burkman (28-13), a veteran second season of The Ultimate Fighter turned WSOF standout, will also be looking right the ship after dropping a decision to Paul Felder earlier this year." Burkman had previously earned a win in his lightweight debut fellow MMA veteran K.J. Noons in February.
Smolka (11-1) will be looking improve on his four fight win streak. In his most outing, The scrappy Hawaiian earned a Performance of the Night bonus following his thrilling TKO win over Ben Ngyuen at UFC Fight Night 91. Smolka previously earned wins over Paddy Holohan, Neil Seery and Richie Vaculik.
Pettis (14-2), the younger brother of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, is coming off a decision win over Chris Kelades at UFC 197 in April. This pushed his win streak to two after defeating former title challenger Chris Cariaso at UFC 192.
In addition, a heavyweight fight between Walt Harris and Shamil Abdurakhimov as well as a middleweight contest between Tamdan McCrory and Nate Marquardt have also been added to the card.
Harris (8-4) recently finished highly touted prospect Cody East at UFC 197. The former football player turned mixed martial artist got back into the win column after finding himself on the receiving end of a violent TKO loss to Soa Palelei. His opponent, Abdurakhimov (16-3) will also be looking to earn his second straight win after earning a decision over Anthony Hamilton in February.
McCrory (14-4), a former Bellator standout, was last seen suffering a knockout loss to Krzysztof Jotko in June. This snapped 'The Barn Cat's' three fight win streak, which included stoppages over Josh Samman, Jason Butcher and Brennan Ward. Marquardt (34-16- 2), a former UFC title contender and Strikeforce champion, is coming off his own knockout loss to Thiago Santos in May. This marked six setback in his last eight bouts, and fourth TKO loss.
A pair lightweight bouts between Will Brooks vs. Alex Oliveira and Bobby Green vs. Josh Burkman have also been added to UFC Fight Night 96 in Portland, Oregon.
Brooks (19-1), the former Bellator lightweight champion, had previously expressed interest in appearing on the October card. "IllWill" most recently earned decision in UFC debut against Ross Pearson at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale last month. Prior to this, Brooks dominated Bellator's 155-pound, which included a pair of wins over current champion Michael Chandler.
For Oliveira (15-3- 1) this will make his return to the lightweight division after a pair of matchups at welterweight. In his last fight, fans saw "Cowboy" pick up decision win over James Moontasri at UFC on FOX 20. This got him back into the win column after being submitted by a "Cowboy" in Donald Cerrone in February.
Green (23-7 MMA) is in desperate need of a victory after finding himself on the receiving end a violent knockout to Dustin Poirier at UFC 199. This marked his second straight loss after losing to Edson Barboza in 2014. His loss to Barboza snapped his eight fight win streak, which included victories over Josh Thomson, Pat Healy and James Krause.
Burkman (28-13), a veteran second season of The Ultimate Fighter turned WSOF standout, will also be looking right the ship after dropping a decision to Paul Felder earlier this year." Burkman had previously earned a win in his lightweight debut fellow MMA veteran K.J. Noons in February.