February’s UFC 208 event has a string of new fight-card additions, including a bout between veteran lightweights.
UFC officials today 155-pounders Dustin Poirier (20-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) vs. Jim Miller (28-8 MMA, 17-7 UFC), as well as heavyweights Luis Henrique (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. Marcin Tybura (14-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), lightweights Nik Lentz (27-7-2 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) vs. Islam Makhachev (13-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), and flyweights Wilson Reis (21-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs. Ulka Sasaki (19-3-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC).
UFC 208 takes place Feb. 11 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the bout order hasn’t been finalized.
Poirier, who’s No. 15 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, was riding a four-fight winning streak – one that included knockout wins over Bobby Green, Yancy Medeiros and Diego Ferreira – after returning to lightweight from featherweight. However, in his most recent bout, he suffered a knockout loss to Michael Johnson in September. The 27-year-old now meets Miller, who’s won eight fight-night bonuses since joining the UFC in 2008. The 33-year-old was recently stuck in a 1-4 skid but has rebounded with consecutive wins over Takanori Gomi, Joe Lauzon and Thiago Alves.
Henrique, a 23-year-old Brazilian, has rebounded from a 2015 knockout loss to Francis Ngannou with submission victories over Dmitry Smoliakov and Christian Colombo. He looks for his third straight victory when he meets Tybura, a former M-1 champ who suffered a decision loss to Timothy Johnson in his UFC debut. However, the 31-year-old Polish fighter recently rebounded with a head-kick knockout win over Viktor Pesta.
Lentz, who first joined the UFC in 2009, has had his ups and downs in the promotion, but the 32-year-old is on a 3-1 run following recent victories over Danny Castillo (which marked Lentz’s return to featherweight) and Michael McBride. He meets Makhachev, a 25-year-old fighter from Dagestan who rebounded from his first career loss – to Adriano Martins at UFC 192 – with a decision victory over Chris Wade.
Reis, who’s ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds, defeated Dustin Ortiz and Hector Sandoval in his two most recent bouts, and the 31-year-old Brazilian is now on an overall 4-1 run heading into his fight with Sasaki, a 27-year-old Japanese fighter who recently rebounded from back-to-back losses to Leandro Issa and Taylor Lapilus by dropping down from bantamweight and defeating flyweight Willie Gates.
The latest UFC 208 card now includes:
For more on UFC 208, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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