UFC 168 continues to fill up, as featherweights Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao and middleweights Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben are the latest additions to the year-end card.
UFC officials announced the pairings Thursday morning.
The UFC’s No. 6 ranked featherweight, Poirier (14-3) looks to string to together consecutive victories after alternating losses to Chan Sung Jung and Cub Swanson with electric wins over Jonathan Brookins and, most recently, Erik Koch. In doing so he’ll meet the always dangerous Brandao (18-8), a surging TUF 14 winner who’s ripped through three straight wins since stumbling against Darren Elkins in May 2012.
Additionally, another heralded reality show product, TUF 18‘s Uriah Hall (7-4), faces what may be his last UFC chance after losing consecutive, uninspired split decisions against Kelvin Gastelum and John Howard. Following Hall’s loss to Howard, UFC President Dana White remarked that the 29-year-old lacked heart and is “not a fighter.”
He’ll now have to prove White wrong by taking on Leben (22-10), a scrappy 21-fight UFC veteran who’s fallen on hard times of late, dropping four of his last five contests, including three straight.
UFC 168 takes place December 28, 2013 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. An updated fight card can be seen below.
- Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva
- Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate
- Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
- Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao
- Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
- Michael Johnson vs. Gleison Tibau