With today’s announcement from the Ultimate Fighting Championship scheduling the entire main card for UFC 146 as heavyweight bouts, the promotion also added a featherweight matchup between former WEC champ Mike Brown (25-8) and Texan Daniel ‘The Pit’ Pineda (17-7).
“Pineda is developing as a serious contender as he will be looking for his third stoppage in the Octagon in only 5 months and riding an almost 2 year unbeaten streak,” said UFC president Dana White. “This will be toughest test of his career, dealing with Brown’s experience, power and submission prowess.”
UFC 146 takes place on May 26, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card features five heavyweight bouts including a title match between champion Juinor dos Santos and former Strikeforce title holder, Alistair Overeem.
Brown had his last fight in August of last year, erasing back-to-back losses by defeating Nam Phan via unanimous decision at the UFC 133 event. Brown was to have faced Vagner Rocha at UFC on FX 1 last January, but a knee injury forced the former WEC champ off the card. The two previous losses on Brown’s record came at the hands of Brazilians Rani Yahya and Diego Nunes.
Pineda is 2-0 in the UFC and carries a seven fight win streak into Las Vegas. The former Legacy Fighting Championship veteran fought earlier this month, submitting Mackens Semerzier in Australia via triangle choke/armbar combination early in the first round at UFC on FX 2. Pineda also fought on the UFC on FX 1 card this past January, finishing Pat Schilling with a first round rear-naked choke submission.