Anthony Njokuani meets Vinc Pichel at UFC 173 in May in Las Vegas
The UFC’s Memorial Day weekend card in Las Vegas is one step closer to complete with the addition of a new lightweight bout.
Anthony Njokuani (16-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will take on Vinc Pichel (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 173 this May. UFC officials announced the new fight booking late Tuesday night.
UFC 173 takes place May 24 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman meets Lyoto Machida in the evening’s main event.
Njokuani is coming off a knockout win over Roger Bowling at UFC on FOX 7 in April 2013, but he has been on the shelf since then. An injury knocked him from a bout at UFC Fight Night 30. He’ll be looking for his first winning streak since his days in the WEC in 2009, when he had three straight “Knockout of the Night†wins.
Pichel, a “TUF 15″ veteran, will be looking for his second straight win after the first loss of his pro career. At the TUF 16 Finale in 2012, he was knocked out by Rustam Khabilov in the first round. But after a long layoff, he rebounded in January with a decision win over Garrett Whiteley at UFC Fight Night 35 in Georgia.
With the addition, UFC 173 now includes:
Champ Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida – for middleweight title
Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
Chris Holdsworth vs. Kyung Ho Kang
Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
James Krause vs. Jamie Varner
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Anthony Njokuani vs. Vinc Pichel
Mitch Clarke vs. Al Iaquinta
Michael Chiesa vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Tony Ferguson vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Yves Edwards vs. Piotr Hallmann
