November’s UFC 281 card has picked up a tantalizing lightweight match-up.
The latest addition to the New York City card sees Brazil’s Renato Moicano (16-5-1) take on Brad Riddell (10-3) in a fight with serious Fight of the Night potential. Moicano announced the match-up while speaking with MMA Junkie on Thursday.
Moicano was last seen stepping up on short notice against former champ Rafael dos Anjos, suffering a one-sided beatdown in the March fight. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for the Brazilian, who had put together victories over Alexander Hernandez and Jai Herbert.
Riddell has lost back-to-back fights against Rafael Fiziev and Jalin Turner. Before those setbacks, however, “Quake” had earned a Fight of the Night bonus for his war with Drew Dober at UFC 263.
New Zealand’s Riddell began his UFC run with four straight wins, before hitting his recent rough patch.
UFC 281 is set to take place at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 12, 2022. Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is expected to defend his title against kickboxing rival Alex Pereira in the main event. The following bouts have been reported for the show thus far:
- Israel Adesanya (c) vs. Alex Pereira – for the UFC middleweight championship
- Carla Esparza (c) vs. Zhang Weili – for the UFC women’s strawweight championship
- Molly McCann vs. Erin Blanchfield
- Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
- Michael Trizano vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Renato Moicano vs. Brad Riddell
