The UFC has moved a couple of bouts originally scheduled for August to its Pittsburgh card this September. According to a report by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, both Thiago Alves vs. Mike Perry and Hector Lombard vs. Anthony Smith have been moved to the event, expected to be UFC Fight Night 116. The card will be held at the PPG Paints Arena on September 16.
Both bouts were originally scheduled for a since cancelled card on August 19, which the UFC scrapped to make way for Mayweather-McGregor.
Cuban-Australian Lombard (34–7–1 (2)) was a Bellator MMA middlweight champion prior to jumping to the UFC. However, since landing in the promotion, Lombard has struggled to stay consistent, and is currently on a 0-3 run. In his last outing, he dropped a unanimous decision to Johny Hendricks at UFC Fight Night 105.
Lombard will be meeting fellow middleweight Anthony Smith (27–12) in Pittsburgh. Smith is 3-1 in the UFC to date, and previously competed for both Strikeforce and Bellator. Lombard, however, will mark Smith’s toughest test to date.
Welterweight Mike Perry (10–1) will return to action against Thiago Alves (22–11) in what will arguably be the toughest fight of Perry’s career. 3-1 in the UFC, he’ll face veteran Alves, who is coming off a unanimous decision win against Patrick Cote at UFC 210 in Buffalo this past April.
Perry recently bounced back from his first career loss against Alan Jouban by knocking out Jake Ellenberger in April at UFC Fight Night 108.
No main event has been announced for UFC Fight Night 116 in Pittsburgh thus far.
