Three fights added to TUF 23 Finale in Las Vegas, including James Krause vs. Ross Pearson

The lineup has started to build for this summer’s TUF 23 Finale in Las Vegas with the addition of three fights in support of the women’s strawweight title headliner.

James Krause (23-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will meet Ross Pearson (19-10 MMA, 11-7 UFC) at lightweight; Scott Askham (14-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) takes on Anthony Smith (25-11 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at middleweight; and Li Jingliang (10-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) fights Anton Zafir (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout. UFC officials announced the new matchups tonight on “UFC Tonight” on FOX Sports 1.

The TUF 23 Finale takes place July 8 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The venue was made official tonight, as well. In the main event, Joanna Jedrzejczyk puts her women’s strawweight title on the line in a rematch with Claudia Gadelha. The finals for Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter” also will be contested. The card will air on FOX Sports 1 after expected early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Krause has won back-to-back fights after a rough stretch that saw him go 1-3. He debuted in the UFC on short notice and won a double bonus with a third-round submission of Sam Stout at UFC 161, netting him a “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” bonus. But then he dropped fights to Bobby Green, Jorge Masvidal and Valmir Lazaro before rebounding with a submission of Daron Cruickshank and, most recently, a decision over Shane Campbell at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh.

Pearson will be looking for a second straight win for the first time in more than three years. After a two-fight winning streak over George Sotiropoulos and Ryan Couture, he had a no-contest with Melvin Guillard, then was robbed in a split-decision loss to Diego Sanchez that started his current eight-fight run of alternating losses and wins. Most recently, he took a split call from Chad Laprise in Australia in March at UFC Fight Night 85.

Askham is coming off a knockout win over Chris Dempsey at UFC Fight Night 84 in London in February to get back on track after a split-decision loss to Krzysztof Jotko in Dublin this past October. He won a “Performance of the Night” bonus for the head kick KO of Dempsey. Smith returned to the promotion at UFC Fight Night 83 in Pittsburgh in February and picked up his first UFC victory with a decision over Leonardo Augusto Leleco. The victory gave him eight straight wins since a three-fight skid for Strikeforce, the UFC, and Victory FC in 2013.

Jingliang has dropped two of his past three fights after a split-decision win over David Michaud at UFC 173 in his promotional debut. This past September at UFC Fight Night 75 in Japan, the Chinese fighter was choked unconscious by Keita Nakamura. Zafir made his promotional debut this past November at UFC 193 in his home country of Australia, but he was stopped by a James Moontasri spinning back fist to have his five-fight winning streak snapped.

With the additions, the TUF 23 Finale card now includes:

• Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Claudia Gadelha – for women’s strawweight title
• TBA vs. TBA – “TUF 23” light heavyweight final
• TBA vs. TBA – “TUF 23” women’s strawweight final
• Scott Askham vs. Anthony Smith
• James Krause vs. Ross Pearson
• Li Jingliang vs. Anton Zafir

For more on the TUF 23 Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.