UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby have been working overtime to bring fight fans plenty of compelling action this spring and summer, with eight new fights confirmed over the last 24 hours that will hit the Octagon in the coming months.
Kicking things off on May 29 in Las Vegas will be a lightweight matchup between the returning Erik Koch and Canadian striker Shane “Shaolin” Campbell. Campbell stepped into the bout against Milwaukee’s “New Breed” after Joe Proctor was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Six days after the May 29 event, the Octagon will be in Inglewood, California for UFC 199 on June 4, and featherweight contenders Max Holloway (#4) and Ricardo Lamas (#5) will try to steal the show from headliners Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman in their 145-pound showdown.
On June 18, the Octagon will be in Ottawa for the first time, and what better place is there for strawweight contender Randa Markos to make her return than in her home province of Ontario, where she will face Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger, who is making her second Octagon start.
Another new spot on the UFC map is South Dakota, and the promotion’s first card at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls on July 13 has its first four bouts. In the middleweight division, Tim Boetsch faces Josh Samman. At 170 pounds, it’s Keita Nakamura vs. Kyle Noke, and at 155 pounds, fans will see Cody Pfister take on Scott Holtzman. Plus, Sioux Falls native Ben Nguyen will look to keep his unbeaten UFC record intact when he faces fellow flyweight up and comer Louis Smolka.
Last, but not least, the UFC’s return to the Windy City of Chicago has received an intriguing strawweight matchup, as local favorite Felice Herrig takes on Hawaii’s Kalin Curran.
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