With UFC 289 officially announced for Vancouver, the Canadian content on the card has started to expand.
Among the most recent additions, Calgary-based featherweight Hakeem Dawodu (13-3-1) is set to face off with Brazilian Lucas Almeida (14-1) at the PPV event on June 10, 2023.
TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was first to report news of the match-up, which was later confirmed by Almeida on social media.
Dawodu will look to get back in the win column in Vancouver, as he’ll enter the fight coming off a loss to Julian “Juicy J” Erosa in a fight that also saw the Canadian miss weight. “Mean” Hakeem is 1-2 in his past three, with a win over TUF 27 winner Mike Trizano, and a loss to Movsar Evloev also in that span.
Now 31, Dawodu started his pro career posting an undefeated 7-0-1 record entirely under the World Series of Fighting banner, prior to joining the UFC.
Lucas Almeida came up short on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, then picked up a win on the regional circuit before landing in the UFC last year. He finished a common opponent with Dawodu, Mike Trizano, with ground n’ pound in the third round of their June meeting.
The Brazilian has not fought since, and instead saw fights with Zubaira Tukhugov and Andre Fili fall through.
UFC 289 takes place June 10, 2023 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The card will be headlined by women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, in the rubber match of her trilogy with Julianna Pena.
The following match-ups have been reported for the event thus far:
- Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Julianna Pena — for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship
- Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira
- Miranda Maverick vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Eryk Anders vs. Marc-André Barriault
- Diana Belbiţă vs. Maria Oliveira
- Blake Bilder vs. Kyle Nelson
- Matt Schnell vs. David Dvořák
- Dan Ige vs. Nate Landwehr
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Lucas Almeida
