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The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads to Albuquerque in June for Fight Night.


June 7 is the date for the UFC's first visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico, as former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson returns to action at the Tingley Coliseum against rising star Rustam Khabilov.

Fresh off a January win over Josh Thomson, Henderson hopes that a win over Khabilov (who has won six straight, including three bouts in the UFC) will put him back in line for a shot at regaining his title.

The UFC's first card in Albuquerque on June 7 continues to get bigger and better with the addition of two bouts verbally agreed to on Wednesday. In the flyweight division, top contender John Dodson will fight in front of his home fans against fellow 125-pound standout John Moraga. The bout is a rematch of a 2010 bout won by Dodson. Plus, bantamweight phenom Sergio Pettis returns to action to take on Yaotzin Meza.

www.ufc.com


UFC Fight Night 43: Henderson vs Khabilov
June 7, 2014
Tingley Coliseum
Albuquerque, New Mexico


Benson Henderson vs. Rustam Khabilov
John Dodson vs. John Moraga
Yaotzin Meza vs. Sergio Pettis
Lance Benoist vs. Bobby Voelker

Sanchez vs. Pearson set for June 7 in Albuquerque


Seeing Albuquerque hero Diego Sanchez fighting in his hometown on the UFC Fight Night card on June 7 was a wish made by all his fans, and they will get that opportunity, as "The Dream" has verbally agreed to meet British star Ross Pearson at Tingley Coliseum. The bout is Sanchez' first at home since May of 2004, and it's likely to be an emotional night for the always fiery ABQ native.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its highly anticipated debut in Albuquerque on Saturday, June 7 at Tingley Coliseum. In the five-round main event, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will take on the surging Rustam Khabilov, a winner of six straight.

Owning wins over some of the sport’s top names such as Josh Thomson, Gilbert Melendez and Frankie Edgar (twice), Henderson (20-3, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.) is eager to reclaim the lightweight crown. To do so, he must diffuse the relentless Khabilov (17-1, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.). Nicknamed “Tiger”, the 27-year-old Khabilov trains at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA gym in Albuquerque and has reeled off three straight wins to start his UFC career. Now he’ll meet the toughest test of his young career against the former UFC lightweight champion.

In the night’s co-main event, Albuquerque’s own Diego Sanchez (26-7) will compete in front of his hometown fans in a potential Fight of the Year candidate against Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson (17-6-1NC, fighting out of San Diego). Plus, flyweight sensation and hometown superstar John Dodson (16-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) looks to secure a title shot when he collides with No.4 flyweight contender John Moraga (14-2, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.).

If that wasn’t enough, Mexican bantamweight star and Jackson-Winkeljohn product Erik “Goyito” Perez takes on Bryan Caraway in a pivotal fight between rising title contenders.


Also scheduled for the card:

*Bobby Voelker (24-11, fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.) takes on Lance Benoist (6-2, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) in a welterweight collision.

*A bantamweight bout between Sergio Pettis (10-1, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wis.) and up-and-comer Yaotzin Meza (19-9, fighting out of Glendale, Ariz.)

*In a lightweight matchup, versatile Yves Edwards (42-20, 1NC, fighting out of Austin, TX) vs. submission specialist Piotr Hallman (14-2, fighting out of Gdynia, Poland)

*A light heavyweight matchup featuring All-American wrestler Patrick Cummins (4-1, fighting out of Dana Point, Calif.) taking on Francimar Barroso (16-4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs Khabilov
June 7, 2014
Tingley Coliseum
Albuquerque, New Mexico


MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET):

Benson Henderson vs. Rustam Khabilov
Ross Pearson vs. Diego Sanchez
John Dodson vs. John Moraga
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Jason High
Yves Edwards vs. Piotr Hallmann
Bryan Caraway vs. Erik Perez


PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET):

Yaotzin Meza vs. Sergio Pettis
Lance Benoist vs. Bobby Voelker
Scott Jorgensen vs. Danny Martinez
Yosdenis Cedeno vs. Jon Tuck


PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET):

Francimar Barroso vs. Patrick Cummins

New lightweight bout is added to June 7 card in Albuquerque.

Unbeaten in nine pro fights, Kansas lightweight Jake "The Librarian" Lindsey will make his UFC debut on June 7 in Albuquerque, as he replaces the injured Yosdenis Cedeno in a UFC Fight Night bout against Jon Tuck. Lindsey, 27, has finished seven of his nine wins, with his last four victories coming by knockout. In Guam's Tuck, he'll be facing a competitor from season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter who is 1-1 in the Octagon, with a win over Tiequan Zhang and a loss to Norman Parke.

The 11-bout UFC Fight Night event is headlined by former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson's bout with Rustam Khabilov, and Diego Sanchez' homecoming showdown with Ross Pearson.

www.ufc.com