'UFC Fight Night 96: On the Ground,' No. 1: Lineker wants title shot, Fili wants to fight, Smolka just wants everyone to

PORTLAND, Ore. – The UFC has returned to Rose City for UFC Fight Night 96, and once again, MMAjunkie is “On the Ground” in the Pacific Northwest.

Today in Portland, MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco met up with UFC flyweight contender Louis Smolka (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), Team Alpha Male featherweight Andre Fili (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and the always entertaining Tamdan McCrory (14-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) for interviews at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, which serves as this week’s host hotel.

Afterward, it was off to a brand new UFC Gym in nearby Beaverton, Ore. There, the fighters involved in the headlining matchup of John Lineker (28-7 MMA, 9-2 UFC) vs. John Dodson (18-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC), as well as the co-feature of Will Brooks (19-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Alex Oliveira (15-3-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) all worked out for fans and media before answering a few questions about the event.

UFC Fight Night 96 takes place Saturday at Moda Center in Portland. The main card airs on FS1 following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass. But before that, Morgan recaps today’s pre-fight action.

Check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.