Six new fights added to UFC Vegas 88
Six more fights have been added to the UFC Fight Night event scheduled for March 16 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Five of the six bouts were officially announced Tuesday by the promotion, while the six was revealed on social media by the fighters involved.
The event is currently headlined by a heavyweight bout between Tai Tuivasa (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Marcin Tybura (24-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC). Light heavyweights Kennedy Nzechukwu (12-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Ovince Saint Preux (26-17 MMA, 14-12 UFC) will also fight each other on the card.
Mike Davis vs. Natan Levy
For the first time since October 2022, fan-favorite Mike Davis has a fight on the books.
Riding a three-fight winning streak of victories over Thomas Gifford, Mason Jones, and Viacheslav Borschev, Davis (10-2 MMA, 3-1) will take on Israeli jiu-jitsu specialist Natan Levy (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout.
Levy rides a two-fight winning streak of his own, off victories against Mike Breeden and Genaro Valdez.
Macy Chiasson vs. Pannie Kianzad 2
Macy Chiasson and Pannie Kianzad fought for the title of “The Ultimate Fighter 28” women’s featherweight winner.
The initial battle in November 2018 ended in a Chiasson (8-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) second-round submission win. The two fighters were friends during their time on the reality series and have found success in the UFC post-tournament.
Chiasson has gone 5-3 since the first meeting with Kianzad, who has gone 6-3 since. Chiasson was supposed to fight Jan. 13 at UFC Fight Night 234, but her opponent Ketlen Vieira withdrew and the fight was scrapped entirely.
Kianzad most recently competed in July when she lost a unanimous decision to Ketlen Vieira
Both fighters are 1-2 in their most recent three outings.
Josh Culibao vs. Danny Silva
Australia’s Josh Culibao welcomes promotional newcomer Danny Silva to the UFC in a three-round featherweight bout.
Culibao (11-2-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) aims to bounce back from a July unanimous decision to Lerone Murphy. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak that included victories over Shayilan Nuerdanbieke, Seungwoo Choi, and Melsik Baghdasaryan.
Silva (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) rides high from an all-time-exciting Dana White’s Contender Series bout against Angel Pacheco. Silva defeated Pacheco by unanimous decision but the fight was so violent and entertaining that UFC CEO Dana White offered both UFC deals.
Chelsea Chandler vs. Josiane Nunes
Chelsea Chandler and Josiane Nunes return to bantamweight after brief stints at featherweight.
Chandler (5-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) looks to bounce back from a grudge match loss against Norma Dumont in July. Prior to that, Chandler won her UFC debut against Julija Stoliarenko by ground-and-pound stoppage.
Nunes (10-1 MMA, 3-0) is on a roll with a nine-fight winning streak. She debuted with a big knockout of Bea Malecki, and followed that up with consecutive unanimous decision victories over Ramona Pascual and Zarah Fairn.
Bryan Barberena vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Chad Anheliger vs. Charalampos Grigoriou
With Toshiomi Kazama out, Chad Anheliger steps in to fight Charalampos Grigoriou.
Both Anheliger (12-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Grigoriou (8-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) are Dana White’s Contender Series alumni.
Anheliger has a knockout win over Jesse Strader and losses to Heili Alateng and Jose Johnson thus far in the UFC.
A former Combat FC champion, Grigoriou has yet to debut following a UFC contract-earning knockout of Cameron Smotherman in August. The fight lasted one minute total.