Featherweight action has been added to the UFC Columbus card this March.
Former LFA champ Bruno Souza (10-2) will face off with Luis Saldana (15-7) at the event, set to go down at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on March 26. Cageside Press confirmed the booking with multiple sources following an announcement by Iridium Sports Agency, who represent Souza.
The Brazilian known as “The Tiger,” who trains under former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida, will be looking to bounce back from a loss in his promotional debut. Paired up against Melsik Baghdasaryan at UFC 268 last November, Souza saw a 10-fight win streak snapped when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision.
One fight prior, Souza had claimed the vacant LFA featherweight championship. Thanks to his association with Machida, he then arrived in the UFC with considerable fanfare.
Saldana, a Contender Series 2020 veteran, made his octagon debut last April, winning a unanimous decision against Jordan Griffin. In his sophomore outing, he’d go to the scorecards once again, only this time, all three judges saw the fight for opponent Austin Lingo.
Like Souza, Saldana is an LFA alum, and claimed gold in Iowa-based promotion Ascendancy FC.
UFC Columbus recently lost its planned main event of Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic. As it stands, the Fight Night event currently consists of the following bouts:
- Askar Askarov vs. Kai Kara-France
- Matt Brown vs. Bryan Barberena
- Michelle Waterson vs. Amanda Ribas
- Nate Landwehr vs. Lerone Murphy
- Joanne Wood vs. Alexa Grasso
- Tucker Lutz vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Sara McMann vs. Karol Rosa
- Montel Jackson vs. Danaa Batgerel
- Matheus Nicolau vs. David Dvořák
- Aliskhab Khizriev vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov
- Max Griffin vs. Neil Magny
- Bruno Souza vs. Luis Saldana
