The UFC has announced four fights for four different cards, including the return of The Ultimate Fighter 19 winner Corey Anderson.
Anderson (5-0), who defeated Justin Jones after winning the TUF 19 season with a 61-second TKO over Matt Van Buren, is set to collide with Gian Villante at UFC on FOX 15 on April 18. At 2-2 in the UFC, Villante (12-5) looks to start his first winning streak in the Octagon after defeating Sean O’Connell in June.
UFC on FOX 15 takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark on April 18 and is headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. Luke Rockhold.
The UFC also announced a lightweight match-up between Francisco Trinaldo and Akbarh Arreola for the UFC Fight Night 62 show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 21.
Trinaldo (15-4), winner of four of his past six fights, enters the Octagon coming off a decision victory over Leandro Silva, while Arreola (23-8-1) looks to impress after a first-round submission over longtime veteran Yves Edwards in November.
Also in the lightweight division, Cody Pfister got the call from the UFC to replace injured Jake Lindsey against James Moontasri at UFC Fight Night 60 in Broomfield, Colo., on Feb. 14.
Pfister (11-3-1) makes his promotional debut after racking up seven straight wins with five finishes, while Moontasri (7-2) looks to get back on track following a split decision loss to Joe Ellenberger in his UFC debut in June.
The fourth bout announced is set to take place at the UFC 185 card in Dallas on March 14. In the women’s bantamweight division, Germaine de Randamie meets Larissa Pacheco.
Pacheco (10-1), a former Jungle Fight 135-pound champion, looks for her first UFC win after tapping to Jessica Andrade in September, while de Randamie (4-3) finally returns to action after pulling out of a planned bout with Milana Dudieva at UFC 174 due to injury. In her last bout, in 2013, “The Iron Lady” lost to Amanda Nunes via first-round TKO.
UFC 185 takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, and features two title fights. Lightweight kingpin Anthony Pettis faces Rafael dos Anjos, while strawweight champion Carla Esparza puts her title on the line for the first time against Joanna J?drzejczyk.