It’s been nearly seven years since the UFC has held an event in Portland, Ore. The promotion returns with UFC Fight Night 96 on Oct. 1, and the fight card is filling up fast.
UFC officials announced six bouts for the Portland fight card this week, with two pivotal lightweight bouts topping the list.
Former Bellator champion Will Brooks (18-1) wasted no time getting his first UFC bout under his belt when he defeated Ross Pearson at the TUF 23 Finale on July 8. He’ll make another quick turn, as he faces Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira (14-4-1) at the Moda Center in Portland.
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Josh Burkman (28-13) has lost three of his last four fights, while Bobby Green (23-7) is on a two-fight skid. They’ll battle it out at UFC Fight Night 96 to try and get back on track.
Other bouts announced include Louis Smolka (11-1) vs. Sergio Pettis (14-2), Walt Harris (8-4) vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov (16-3), Tamdan McCrory (14-4) vs. Nate Marquardt (34-16-2), and Kelly Faszholz (3-1) vs. Ketlen Vieira (6-0).
Although it has yet to be announced by UFC officials, a bout pitting Luis Henrique (11-0) vs. Joachim Christensen (13-3) is also expected to take place at UFC Fight Night 96.
The last time the Octagon was in Portland was for UFC 102 on Aug. 29, 2009. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Randy Couture by unanimous decision in the main event. Nogueira and Couture are both UFC Hall of Fame members.
(Photo courtesy of UFC)
