Niinimaki-Tavares, Magomedov-Pesta added to UFC Fight Night 41 in Berlin

Two more fights with international flavor have been added to the UFC’s first trip to Berlin.

On the main card, Finland’s Tom Niinimaki (21-5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will meet Brazil’s Thiago Tavares (18-5-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) in a featherweight bout. And on the prelims, Viktor Pesta (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), of the Czech Republic, takes on Degaestan-born Ruslan Magomedov (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a battle of debuting heavyweights.

UFC officials announced the new bouts on Thursday as part of the ticket on-sale announcement for the card. Tickets are on sale to e-newsletter subscribers now, and are available to the general public on Friday. The promotion also made official the headliner between Gegard Mousasi and Mark Munoz in a five-round main event, B.C. Dollaway vs. Francis Carmont in the co-main slot and Luke Barnatt vs. Sean Strickland on the main card.

UFC Fight Night 41 takes place May 31 at the O2 World Berlin in Germany. The card, which streams in its entirety on UFC Fight Pass in the U.S., marks the company’s first event in Germany since November 2010.

After wins over former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe and former UFC fighter Walel Watson in 2013, both of which were defenses of his featherweight title under Finland’s Cage MMA banner, Niinimaki signed with the UFC this past fall. In his debut, he took a split decision from Rani Yahya at the TUF 18 Finale in Las Vegas and extended his winning streak to 12 fights. It will be seven and a half years since his most recent loss when he meets Tavares.

Tavares got back on track in November with a first-round submission win over Justin Salas in his native Brazil. Prior to that, he had a two-fight winning streak snapped when he was knocked out by Khabib Nurmagomedov in January 2013. After that fight, he tested positive for a banned steroid and was suspended for nine months by the UFC. Tavares was expected to fight in February against Zubair Tuhugov, but he was forced out with an injury.

Pesta brings an undefeated record to the UFC in a little more than three years of pro fighting. His record includes four knockouts and three submissions. Magomedov will become the latest Russian to make his way to the UFC. The Jackson-Winkeljohn product signed with Bellator MMA two years ago, but visa issues kept him out of that promotion’s Season 7 heavyweight tournament. His most recent victory was a unanimous decision in a super heavyweight bout against former UFC champion Tim Sylvia this past October in Moscow. He holds a win over another former UFC champ, Ricco Rodriguez, as well.

The latest UFC Fight Night 41 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD

• Gegard Mousasi vs. Mark Munoz
• Francis Carmont vs. C.B. Dollaway
• Luke Barnatt vs. Sean Strickland
• Tom Niinimaki vs. Thiago Tavares

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Drew Dober vs. Nick Hein
• Magnus Cedenblad vs. Krzysztof Jotko
• Maximo Blanco vs. Andy Ogle
• Pawel Pawlak vs. Peter Sobotta
• Ruslan Magomedov vs. Viktor Pesta

For more on UFC Fight Night 41, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Thiago Tavares)