A welterweight banger is on tap for spring.
According to MMA Fighting the UFC has booked a welterweight bout for April 16 that, on paper, promises a lot of action. The potential fireworks are scheduled to come courtesy of Elizau Zaleski dos Santos and Mounir Lazzez.
Zaleski had a seven UFC fight win streak snapped in 2018 when he lost to Li Jingliang. During his winning streak the Brazilian scored a number of sensational knock outs, including a wheel kick finish of Sean Strickland and a flying knee against Luigi Vendramini.
After his loss to Li, ‘Capoeira’ regrouped with a win over Alexey Kunchenko on the UFC’s first ever empty stadium show (UFC Brasilia during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic).
A few months after that he dropped a split decision to Muslim Salikhov on the so-called Fight Island. Most recently, at UFC 267 in October, he scored a unanimous decision win over Benoit St. Denis (in a fight which many believe should have been stopped in the second round).
Lazzez’s UFC record is not as long or as impressive as Zaleski’s. He’s 1-1 in his Octagon career with an impressive underdog decision victory over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his promotional debut and then a TKO loss to Warlley Alves in his second appearance.
Prior to joining the UFC Lazzez racked up a thrilling highlight reel of finishes on the Arab Gulf circuit, most notably with Brave CF and UAE Warriors. The Tunisian was famously signed to the UFC after a friend showed Dana White YouTube footage of Lazzez’s fights.
The venue for the UFC’s April 16 show is yet to be announced. That card is expected to be headlined by a rematch between highly ranked welterweights Vicente Luque and Belal Muhammad.
Also on that card is Miguel Baeza vs. Dhiego Lima, Uriah Hall vs. Andre Muniz and Lina Lansberg vs. Pannie Kianzad.