UFC 216 in Las Vegas this October just got a big shot in the arm. The UFC announced Tuesday via their official website that seven bouts have been added to the card, set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena on October 7. Among the fights added, “Ill” Will Brooks takes on Nick “The Carny” Lentz, and “Groovy” Lando Vannata meets Abel Trujillo.
Lightweight is the focus of the additions. Brooks (19–3), a former Bellator lightweight champion, is 1-2 in his UFC run and has lost two straight since a debut win over Ross Pearson. He’s looking to prevent being bounced from the promotion when he takes on Lentz. Nick Lentz, meanwhile, is 2-2 in his last four, but has made more headlines for his ongoing feud with B.J. Penn than anything else of late.
Also at 155lbs, Vannata, who has captured two Fight of the Night bonuses and a Performance of the Night bonus in three UFC fights, returns and looks to even his UFC record to .500 against Trujillo (15–7 (1)). “Killa” had been on a three fight win streak prior to falling to James Vick this past February.
The last of three lightweight bouts added to the event sees Beneil Dariush (14–3) take on Evan Dunham (18–6). Dunham will be riding a four-fight win streak into the fight with his most recent victory coming against former WSOF featherweight champ Rick Glenn.
In middleweight action, Brad Tavares (15–4) meets former title challenger Thales Leites (27–7), while at heavyweight Mark “Hand of” Godbeer (12–3) faces Walt Harris (10–5). Currently in his second UFC stint, Harris, who went 1-4 to start his run with the promotion, has really turned things around, and is 2-0 in 2017 thus far.
Finally, a pair of flyweight bouts have been included for UFC 216: John Moraga (17–6) squares off against Magomed Bibulatov (14-0), and Matt Schnell (9-4) and Marco Beltran (8-5) have been paired up as well. Moraga has struggled since challenging for the UFC flyweight title, going 4-4 since losing to Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Bibulatov, meanwhile, made his debut at UFC 210, but has had to deal with controversy from being linked to brutal Chechan dictator Ramzan Kadryov.
A quick list of the bouts added to UFC 216 is as follows:
Lando Vannata vs. Abel Trujillo
Will Brooks vs. Nik Lentz
Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham
Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares
Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
John Moraga vs. Magomed Bibulatov
Matt Schnell vs. Marco Beltran
