Canadians Nordine Taleb and Kyle Nelson have been added to UFC Ottawa, taking on Siyar Bahadurzada and Matt Sayles, respectively.
The UFC’s return trip to Ottawa continues to rely heavily on Canadian talent. Over the weekend, Kyle Nelson was announced making his return to the octagon. UFC officials revealed that the featherweight would take on Matt Sayles on the card, set to go down in May. And on Monday, the promotion added welterweights Nordine Taleb and Siyar Bahadurzada to the card.
Taleb (14-6), born in France but representing Canada, appeared on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. He turned up on both TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia, and on TUF 19. Despite being eliminated on each he was signed to the UFC, and has gone 6-4 since 2014. However, Taleb has struggled of late, losing two straight against Claudio Silva and Sean Strickland.
His opponent, Siyar Bahadurzada (24–7–1), is 4-3 in the UFC and coming off a loss to Curtis Millender. That snapped a three-fight win streak capped by a Performance of the Night bonus against Luan Chagas.
Kyle Nelson (12-2) jumped into the UFC on short notice at UFC 231 in Toronto. Though he came up short against Carlos Diego Ferreira that night, he’ll get a second look at UFC Ottawa (UFC Fight Night 150). There, he’ll face Matt Sayles (7-2), who appeared on the Contender Series before losing his promotional debut at UFC 227 against Sheymon Moraes.
UFC Ottawa takes place May 4 at the Canadian Tire Centre in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, ON. The card airs on ESPN+, and TSN in Canada.
Update, 4/19/2019 — Due to a change in UFC broadcast plans, UFC Ottawa is now UFC Fight Night 151/UFC on ESPN+ 9
