Light heavyweights will be in the spotlight at UFC Brooklyn, with Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba leading the charge.
The UFC’s debut on ESPN+ has added a pair of light heavyweight bouts. Friday, Newsday was first to report that the UFC had booked former light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira against rising 205’er Ion Cutelaba. In addition, citing promotion officials, the publication also reported that Alonzo Menifield would fight Vinicius Moreira Castro at UFC Brooklyn, the UFC’s first show of 2019.
Teixeira (27-7), who challenged Jon Jones for the UFC’s light heavyweight title in 2014, losing by decision, is coming off a loss to Corey Anderson at UFC Hamburg in July. The Brazilian is 2-3 in his last five, trading wins and losses over that span. Victories over Jared Cannonier and Misha Cirkunov have been sandwiched between losses to Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson, and Anderson.
For Ion Cutelaba (14-3, 1NC), the fight marks a significant step up in competition. He was last in action at UFC Calgary in July, finishing Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO in round one. That put Cutelaba on a two-fight win streak. He’s 3-2 in the UFC overall.
Menifield (7-0), who had to win twice on the Contender Series to make it to the UFC, will put his perfect record on the line at UFC Brooklyn. His opponent, Moreira Castro (9-1), appeared on the Brazilian edition of the show.
