Report: UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau builds with addition of five more fights
Next month’s UFC return to Macau continues to build with the reported addition of a handful of fights.
According to a report from MMA in Asia, the card is close to being complete with the addition of five more bouts. UFC officials, however, have not you announced the fights for UFC Fight Night 48.
UFC Fight Night 48 takes place Aug. 23 at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena in Macau. The event will stream on UFC Fight Pass with a middleweight headliner between Michael Bisping and Cung Le.
According to the report, Lipeng Zhang (7-7 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is set to meet Brendan O’Reilly (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a lightweight bout; three sets of welterweights are paired up as Danny Mitchell (14-5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will take on Wang Sai (6-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC), Alberto Mina (10-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets Sheldon Westcott (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and Colby Covington (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) fights Anying Wang (2-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC); and Royston Wee (3-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is set to take on Yao Zhikui (1-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at bantamweight. Additionally, Rocky Lee (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is expected to have a fight on the card against an opponent still to be named.
Zhang, from Inner Mongolia, made his UFC debut in March in Macau and topped Sai with a split decision. That win got him back on track following a two-fight skid. O’Reilly, an Australian from the “TUF: Nations†cast, will make his promotional debut hoping to stay unbeaten. He hasn’t fought since his appearance on the show, but will be looking to build on a submission win from February 2013.
Mitchell, “The Cheesecake Assassin†from England, made his promotional debut in London in March, but dropped a unanimous decision to Igor Araujo to have a two-fight streak snapped. China’s Sai made his UFC debut a week before Mitchell made his, and also had an unfriendly result as he dropped a split decision to Zhang in Macau. He’s never lost two straight and will be looking to keep that string intact.
Mina, a Brazilian who trains in Asia, will make his UFC debut looking to stay perfect. The 32-year-old has all 10 of his wins by stoppage, including six submissions. In December, he picked up a TKO win in Singapore in his first fight in 28 months. His resume includes a TKO win over longtime Ross Pearson training partner Dean Amasinger. He originally was scheduled to make his UFC debut in March against Zak Cummings, but when Cummings came in highly overweight, Mina did not agree to the catchweight bout. Westcott, a member of the “TUF: Nations†cast earlier this spring, made his UFC debut at the TUF Nations Finale in April, but was stopped by Elias Theodorou in the second round. He’ll be looking to get back on track after that loss, which was his first since his pro debut in 2007.
“Smiley†Anying, from Mongolia, made his promotional debut in March in Macau, where he got a doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Albert Chang after the first round. Oregon’s Covington will make his UFC debut after tapping out Jay Ellis in Florida in May – sending Ellis’ record to 12-56. The 26-year-old has three of his five wins by submission.
Wee, from Singapore, made his UFC debut in Singapore earlier this year and picked up a unanimous decision win over Dave Galera at UFC Fight Night 34, his first bout in more than two years. Against Zhikui, he gets a relative newcomer who is m ovine up to bantamweight from a flyweight fight in his pro debut. Lee, from Taiwan, will make his UFC debut a little more than a year since his most recent outing.
With the additions, the latest UFC Fight Night 48 card now includes:
Michael Bisping vs. Cung Le
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tyron Woodley
Ning Guangyou vs. Jianping Yang – “TUF: China†featherweight tourney finale
Zhang Lipeng vs. Brendan O’Reilly
Danny Mitchell vs. Wang Sai
Alberto Mina vs. Sheldon Westcott
Wang Anying vs. Colby Covington
Royston Wee vs. Yao Zhikui
Rocky Lee vs. TBA
