'El Dirte' vs. 'Hot Sauce': Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith set for UFC Fight Night 102

The UFC’s second New York fight this year after its long-awaited return to the state continues to grow with the addition of a middleweight fight featuring a “TUF” winner.

“TUF 23” light heavyweight winner Andrew Sanchez (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is set to meet Trevor Smith (14-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 102. UFC officials today announced the new booking for the lineup.

UFC Fight Night 102 takes place Dec. 9 at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. The entire card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

After five fights under the RFA banner, “El Dirte” Sanchez hooked up with the UFC as a light heavyweight on Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” He was coach Claudia Gadelha’s first 205-pound pick. He reached the final, and against Khalil Rountree in July at the TUF 23 Finale in Las Vegas, he picked up a unanimous decision win.

Trevor Smith

After alternating losses and wins in his first five UFC fights after four bouts for Strikeforce, “Hot Sauce” Smith has won back-to-back fights for the first time in five years. In July 2015, he took a unanimous decision from Dan Miller at the TUF 21 Finale in Las Vegas. Then, after more than a year on the sidelines, he returned from a hand injury at UFC Fight Night 92 in August for a decision win over Joe Gigliotti.

With the addition to the card, the UFC Fight Night 102 lineup now includes:

• Derrick Lewis vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
• Anthony Hamilton vs. Francis Ngannou
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling
• Patrick Cummins vs. Gian Villante
• Oluwale Bamgbose vs. Joseph Gigliotti
• Randy Brown vs. Charlie Ward
• Keith Berish vs. Ryan Janes
• Juliana Lima vs. Tatiana Suarez
• Corey Anderson vs. Sean O’Connell
• Tiago Trator vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
• Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith

For more on UFC Fight Night 102, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.