UFN 49 Adds Demian Maia vs. Mike Pyle & Francis Carmont vs. Thales Leites
The UFC’s return to Oklahoma is filling up.
Two important matchups in the UFC’s middleweight and welterweight division have been added to the promotions Fight Night event in August and they feature two former title challengers.
Earlier today UFC officials revealed Demian Maia vs. Mike Pyle and Francis Carmont vs. Thales Leites have been added to UFN 49 which takes place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23. The event will be the first time the UFC have travelled to Oklahoma in nearly twenty years, the last event to be held their was UFC 4 which took place on December 16 1994.
UFC Fight Night 49 is set to be headlined by former lightweight champion Benson Henderson and the No.5 ranked Rafael Dos Anjos. The event will be available to watch on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. The lineup for the card has yet to be annouced but Maia vs. Pyle and Carmont vs. Leites are expected to take place on the main card.
Against Pyle, Maia will be looking to build upon his recent victory over Alexander Yakovlev at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale. His decision over Yakovlev stopped snapped a two-fight losing skid for the former middleweight title challenger after dropping back-to-back decisions against Jake Shields and Rory MacDonald.
He faces a tough test in Pyle, who has just two losses in his last eleven fights; both coming against elite fighters in Rory MacDonald and Matt Brown. The 38-year old was last seen in action in February where he stopped TJ Waldburger with a brutal TKO.
Leites will be looking to extend his current three-fight winning streak at the event against Carmont to get himself back into title contention. He last fought in April picking up a first round TKO over Trevor Smith.
His oppoent is in desperate need of a W after dropping his last two fights against C.B. Dollaway and Ronaldo Souza. Carmont is still without a win this year and hasn’t seen victory since beating Costas Philippou at UFC 165.
With the bookings, UFC Fight Night 49 now looks as followed:
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Benson Henderson
Demian Maia vs. Mike Pyle
Francis Carmont vs. Thales Leites
Timothy Elliott vs. Wilson Reis
Thiago Alves vs. Jordan Mein
Tom Niinimaki vs. Chas Skelly
Mirsad Bektic vs. Ernest Chavez
Matt Hobar vs. Aaron Phillips
