UFC Fight Night 40 - Fight Card Updates

[keithlewis]

On Saturday, May 10, the UFC will be back in Cincinnati for the first time since 2007, as a FOX Sports 1 televised card will take place at U.S. Bank Arena in "The Queen City."

The fight card for this event will be announced soon. In the UFC's previous visit to Cincy for UFC 77 on October 20, 2007, Anderson Silva defended his UFC middleweight title against hometown favorite Rich Franklin in a rematch witnessed by over 16,000 fans.

Tickets for this event go on sale on Friday, March 21. Stay tuned to http://www.UFC.com for more details.

[ST3ALTHSE7EN]

Nice! I'm hoping they make their way to AZ, dammit! We've had Strikeforce, Bellator, and The WEC here. Where's The UFC!?

[keithlewis]

Three intriguing matchups have been added to the UFC's return to Cincinnati on May 10, as Nik Lentz faces Manny Gamburyan in featherweight action, flyweights Darrell Montague and Kyogi Horiguchi collide, and Louis Smolka and Chris Cariaso meet, also in the 125-pound weight class.


UFC Fight Night 40
May 10, 2014
U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio


Soa Palelei vs. Ruan Potts
Justin Salas vs. Ben Wall
Ed Herman vs. Rafael Natal
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nik Lentz
Chris Cariaso vs. Louis Smolka

[keithlewis]

Lightweight prospects Koch and Cruickshank get their next assignment... against each other


A stunning 84 second knockout of Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 170 kicked off Erik Koch's UFC run at lightweight earlier this month, and "New Breed" will be back in the Octagon on May 10, as he has verbally agreed to take on Daron Cruickshank in what promises to be an explosive three rounder in Cincinnati. A member of the Ultimate Fighter 15 cast, Cruickshank has since won four of six UFC bouts, most recently impressing fans in Chicago with a second round stoppage of castmate Mike Rio.

www.ufc.com

[keithlewis]

Welterweights Matt Brown and Erick Silva have agreed to meet in a UFC Fight Night main event on May 10 in Cincinnati

Cincinnati's UFC Fight Night event on May 10 now has a main event and it should be one to remember, as Ohio native Matt "The Immortal" Brown fights in his home state for the first time since 2009 against rising Brazilian star Erick Silva in a five round welterweight bout.

On one of the most impressive winning streaks in the sport today, Brown has won six straight, with five of his wins coming by way of knockout. Returning to the Octagon for the first time since his 29 second finish of Mike Pyle last August, Brown will be in tough with the dynamic Silva, who has finished all four of his UFC wins, most recently needing just 52 seconds to defeat Takenori Sato in February and pick up a performance of the Night award.


Also, a rising star in the middleweight division, Lorenz Larkin will look to move into the 185-pound rankings should he defeat number 10 ranked Costas Philippou in Cincinnati on May 10. The UFC Fight Night bout has been verbally agreed to by both parties. Both fighters are hoping to rebound from January losses, Philippou to Luke Rockhold and Larkin to Brad Tavares.



UFC Fight Night 40: Brown vs. Silva
May 10, 2014
U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati, Ohio


Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva
Justin Salas vs. Ben Wall
Ed Herman vs. Rafael Natal
Soa Palelei vs. Ruan Potts
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nik Lentz
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Darrell Montague
Chris Cariaso vs. Louis Smolka
Yan Cabral vs. Alexander Yakovlev
Johnny Eduardo vs. Eddie Wineland
Daron Cruickshank vs. Erik Koch
Lorenz Larkin vs. Constantinos Philippou

[keithlewis]

For the first time since UFC 77 in 2007, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is bringing the Octagon back to Cincinnati on Saturday, May 10 at U.S. Bank Arena. In the evening’s main event, Ohio’s own Matt Brown takes on Erick Silva in a five-round main event bout featuring two of the UFC’s most exciting welterweights.

Having won six consecutive bouts inside the Octagon, the seventh-ranked Matt “The Immortal” Brown (20-11, fighting out of Columbus, Ohio) is in the best form of his career and more focused than ever on making a run at the UFC welterweight title. At 33, the Xenia, Ohio native has defeated some of the division’s most dangerous athletes, including Mike Pyle and Mike Swick on his way towards a main event encounter with Silva.

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace who has trained alongside Anderson Silva and Jacare Souza, Erick Silva (16-4, 1NC, fighting out of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Brazil) has seen his share of highlight reel performances in the UFC. After defeating Charlie Brenneman, Jason High, and most recently Takenori Sato in a bout that earned him a “Performance of the Night” award, the 29-year-old Silva is looking to make his presence known in the welterweight division. With both fighters having a reputation for finishing fights, fans can expect an explosive showdown when these two take center stage.

In addition, former Golden Gloves boxer and current No. 10 ranked contender Costas Philippou (12-4, 1NC, fighting out of Long Island, N.Y.) returns to action against the flashy Lorenz Larkin (14-2, 1NC, fighting out of Riverside, Calif.) in a clash of middleweight strikers.



The main card also features:


*Former featherweight title contender Erik Koch (14-3, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis.) competing for the second time at lightweight in the UFC against “The Detroit Superstar” Daron Cruickshank (14-4, fighting out of Detroit, Mich.).

*The Ultimate Fighter Brazil season two standout William “Patolino” Macario (8-1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) taking on Neil Magny (9-4, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) at welterweight.

*An incredible heavyweight bout between the 6’4” Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (20-3, fighing out of Perth, Australia) and the debuting South African MMA champion Ruan Potts (8-1, fighting out of Cape Town, South Africa).

*A battle of flyweights as ninth-ranked Chris Cariaso (16-5, fighting out of Tucson, Ariz.) squares off against the undefeated Louis Smolka (7-0, fighting out of Kapolei, Hawaii).



Also scheduled for the card:


*A battle between The Ultimate Fighter season three veteran and fan-favorite Ed Herman (21-9, 1NC, fighting out of Fort Collins, Colo.) and Rafael Natal (17-5-1, New York, N.Y.) at middleweight.

*Japanese striker Kyoji Horiguchi (12-1, fighting out of Tokyo, Japan) drops to flyweight to take on No. 14 Darrell Montague (13-3, fighting out of Chino, Calif.).

*Undefeated Brazilian prospect Yan Cabral (11-0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) meets promotional newcomer Alexander Yakovlev (21-4-1, fighting out of Saint Petersburg, Russia) at welterweight.

*Current No. 4 contender and former title challenger Eddie Wineland (21-9-1, fighting out of Chesterton, Ind.) faces the returning Johnny Eduardo (26-9, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in a bantamweight bout.

*Training partner of Ronda Rousey and The Ultimate Fighter season five competitor Manvel Gamburyan (16-9, Hollywood, Calif. by way of Leninakan, Armenia) takes on the always tough eighth-ranked Nik Lentz (26-6-2, 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Eden Prairie, Minn.) at featherweight.

*Justin Salas (11-5, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) meets Ben Wall (7-1-1, fighting out of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) at lightweight.

*Welterweights Anthony Lapsley (25-6, 2NC, fighting out of Indianapolis, Ind.) and Albert Tumenov (12-2, fighting out of Fairfield, N.J.) to square off.