Edmonton’s UFC 216 will see the debut of a former Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medalist in the heavyweight division. As first reported by The Province, Luis Henrique will face Arjan Bhullar at the event. Bhullar captured gold for Canada at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Freestyle Wrestling, and later competed at the 2012 Olympics in London, England.
The heavyweight booking comes on the heels of a women’s bantamweight and men’s flyweight fight being added to the card yesterday.
Henrique (10–3 (1)) has gone 2-2 in his UFC career to date, most recently suffering a loss to Marcin Tybura via TKO at UFC 209 in March. That snapped a two fight win streak for the Brazilian, who had put together consecutive submission victories over Dmitry Smoliakov and Christian Colombo.
Bhullar (6-0) is undefeated since making his MMA debut in late 2014. The Richmond, B.C. native has fought the majority of his bouts under the Battlefield Fight League banner, where he served as the promotion’s inaugural heavyweight champion. Finishing half of his six pro fights, Bhullar has gone the distance three times, including a five-round title defense in 2016.
UFC 216 goes down at the Rogers Place arena September 9 in Edmonton, Alberta. Thus far, the card includes:
Gavin Tucker vs. Rick Glenn
Wilson Reis vs. Henry Cejudo
Sarah Moras vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
Luis Henrique vs. Arjan Bhullar
No main event has been announced for UFC 216 as of yet.
