UFC Halifax rocks Sunday night with Ronda's boyfriend and three Brazilians

Lewis (left) and Browne (right) will face each other on February 19th. (PHOTO: SUPER FIGHTS Production / Disclosure)

Lewis (left) and Browne (right) face each other. (Photo: SUPER FIGHTS Production)

Ultimate returns to Canada this Sunday (19) for UFC Halifax. The main fight of the night promises to shake up the heavyweight division: the promise of the division Derrick Lewis face Ronda Rousey's boyfriend Travis Browne. This fight was supposed to take place at UFC 208 last week, but arrived in Halifax, as the original main fight, between Brazilian Júnio Cigano and Stefan struve it was canceled due to the Dutchman's injury.

In the second most important duel of the night, the former welterweight champion (up to 77 kg.) John hendricks will make his debut at middleweight (up to 84 kg.) against Hector Lombard.

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BRAZILIANS IN ACTION

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UFC Halifax will feature three Brazilians. In the main portion, Cézar Mutante will try for his fourth consecutive victory since returning to middleweight against Elias Theodorou. The two won international editions of TUF. In the preliminaries, Thiago Marreta, who was ranked up to 84 kg., tries to end his series of two defeats against Jack Marshman. Reginaldo Vieira, winner of TUF Brasil 4 in the bantamweight division, faces newcomer Aiamann Zahabi, brother of Firas Zahabi, MMA coach from Georges St Pierre e Rory McDonald.

LEWIS x BROWNE

Halifax main event brings promise Derrick Lewis facing an athlete who was once in your position. Browne began his Ultimate career with four wins and a draw in his first five fights. After being knocked out by the Brazilian Antonio Pezão, won three more duels and came close to a title fight. He lost his chance when he was defeated by another Brazilian, Fabricio Werdum. Since then, he has alternated victories and defeats, but has come from two setbacks, against Cain Velásquez and in the rematch against Werdum.

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Lewis has eight wins and two losses in the UFC. He started his career in Ultimate with just three wins and two losses in five fights. However, he is growing and, if he beats Browne, he will reach his sixth consecutive victory. Within this sequence, the “Black Beast” knocked out the Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga and beat the veteran Roy Nelson. He is coming off a victory over Shamil Abdurakhimov.

HENDRICKS x LOMBARD

The second most important fight of the event features the debut of John hendricks in the midrange. After successive problems with his weight cutting process for welterweight, the former owner of the belt in the 77 kg division. he was forced to move up a category or no longer fight for the UFC. Despite admitting that he is already thinking about retirement, “Big Rigg” intends to be “reborn” at middleweight and seek a run for the title, currently in the hands of the Brit Michael Bisping.

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Lombard, his opponent in Halifax, was signed at a premium by the UFC to be a great competitor for Anderson Silva. Bellator middleweight champion, the Cuban ended up having problems adapting to Ultimate, alternating victories and defeats and moving up to welterweight. He didn't find much success there either and returned to the 84 kg category. He was doing well against the legendary Dan Henderson in his middleweight debut, but ended up being knocked out in the second round. If he loses this Sunday (19), he could find himself in an unsustainable situation in the UFC.

OTHER FIGHTS

In addition to the main fights and the duel involving Brazilians, UFC Halifax offers interesting fights in the two main women's divisions. In the bantamweight division, the Olympic wrestling medalist, Sara McMann would face Liz Carmouche, in a duel between former challengers for the category title. However, Carmouche was injured and now McMann duels with the newcomer Gina Mazany, known for her brief participation in TUF 18, when she was eliminated before entering the house by the eventual champion Julianna Pena. Despite this, Mazany is undefeated in MMA with four wins, as the setback to Peña does not count towards the official record.

In the preliminary portion of the event, the first female straw champion, Carla esparza, returns to the octagon against Randa markos. Esparza won TUF 20 and, consequently, the world title at 52 kg., but ended up defeated in her first defense by Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who remains with the belt to this day. After a year away, she returned in April 2016 and beat Brazilian Ju Thai. Markos, her opponent, also participated in the competition, being eliminated in the quarterfinals, after winning Tecia torres and lose to Felice herrig. Whoever wins the duel is closer to reaching a title fight in a category dominated by Polish champion Jedrzejczyk.

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