November 23, 2024

Brooks/Oliveira, Pettis/Smolka among fights added to UFC Fight Night 96

Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC added a gaggle of fights to their October event in Portland today. Here’s the run down.

Will Brooks asked for a fight with Edson Barboza in Portland recently. That is not what he received. The former Bellator champ, who is currently ranked at number 12 at lightweight after one fight (and win) in the UFC, will instead take on Alex Oliveira at the October event in Oregon, also known as UFC Fight Night 96.

The bout was announced by the UFC today, along with a few others.

Brooks (19-1, 1-0 UFC) defeated Ross Pearson by unanimous decision last month. Oliveira (15-3-1, 1 NC, 4-2 UFC) picked up a win over James Moontasri at UFC on Fox 20 just over a week ago. He has won four of his last five overall.

Another notable bout added to the card comes in the flyweight division, with Sergio Pettis taking on Louis Smolka. Pettis (14-2, 5-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since April, where he decisioned Chris Kelades. Smolka (11-1, 5-1 UFC) stopped Ben Nguyen with strikes last month and is on a four-fight win streak overall.

Former Strikeforce champ Nate Marquardt (34-16-2, 12-9 UFC) will also fight in Portland, taking on Tamdan McCrory. (14-4, 4-4 UFC).

Other bouts announced include a heavyweight fight between Shamil Abdurakhimov andWalt Harris; Josh Burkman and Bobby Green meeting in a lightweight bout; and Kelly Faszholz vs. Ketlen Vieira at women’s bantamweight.

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