Fabio Maldonado vs. Nikita Krylov title fight set for Fight Nights Global 87

We may be losing Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin on May 5th, but there is a must-see MMA fight that has just been booked for the same date between two former UFC light heavyweight fan favorites.

Fight Nights Global announced that Fabio Maldonado will put his title on the line against Nikita Krylov in the promotion’s debut card in Brazil.

As the poster also notes, ex-UFC featherweight Diego Brandao will fight Felipe Froes in the co-main event, while fellow UFC veterans Michael Graves and Elias Silverio will battle in what is described as a “superfight.”

Maldonado (24-11) has been with Fight Nights Global since the end of his UFC run in 2015. The Brazilian had a controversial decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko two years ago, as not only were the scorecards questionable, but there was a strong case that he should’ve gotten a TKO win against a badly hurt and wobbly Fedor in round 1. A loss to Mikhail Mokhnatkin extended his winless streak to four, before finally getting back on track with a TKO of Abdul-Khamid Davlyatov. Maldonado returned to light heavyweight to fight for the vacant FNG title against Kurban Omarov back in September, and won the belt with an unlikely guillotine choke finish.

Krylov (23-5) did not re-sign with the UFC after being choked out by Misha Cirkunov at UFC 206. That defeat snapped his five-fight winning streak, but he’s currently on a three-fight unbeaten stretch, including a vicious knockout of former Bellator LHW champion Emanuel Newton in just 43 seconds. Krylov has literally never gone to a decision in his 28 career professional bouts, but he may find it to be a tall task to put away Maldonado, who is notoriously difficult to stop.

Fight Nights Global 87 bouts will be uploaded on the promotion’s Youtube page upon the conclusion of the card.