February’s UFC 170 card gets two new fights as the event takes shape for the Las Vegas return. Flyweights Josh Sampo and Zach Makovsky as well as lightweights Erik Koch and Rafaello Oliveira will now square of at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on February 22nd.
The move to lightweight for Koch may be a last ditch effort to get a win and stay with the company. Koch was on a roll, winning four straight, in the featherweight division. He scored two “Knockout of the Night” bonuses in that stretch. He has since dropped back to back fights with his most recent loss coming to Dustin Poirier in a decision at UFC 164.
It is most likely the same type scenario for Rafaello Oliveira. Since returning to the UFC in 2011 he has gone 1-3. He was stopped in all three losses with his only win coming at UFC 148 against Yoislandy Izquierdo. He is 2-5 overall under the UFC banner.
Flyweight Josh Sampo missed weight for his UFC debut but turned his opportunity into a “Fight of the Night”. He didn’t get the bonus but he did get the win over Ryan Benoit. He has won eight of his last nine fights. He has won by submission six times in his 13 fight career.
After winning the Resurrection Fighting Alliance flyweight title which was vacated by now fellow UFC 125 pounder Sergio Pettis, Zach Makovsky made a quick turnaround for his UFC debut. He defeated Scott Jorgensen at UFC on FOX 9 only three weeks after his RFA win. He was the first Bellator bantamweight champion and a win over Sampo could help him make a run at his third professional title.Although not made official yet, reports coming from close to the fight say this is a done deal.
Ronda Rousey will headline this event when she makes her second title defense against Sara McMann. The main card will air live on pay per view. Here is a look at UFC 170 as it stands.
- Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann
- Daniel Cormier vs. Rashad Evans
- Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rustam Khabilov
- Alexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye
- Mike Pyle vs. T.J. Waldburger
- Zach Makovsky vs. Josh Sampo
- Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira
- Bryan Caraway vs. Lucas Martins
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Francisco Rivera
- Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker