Ryan Benoit out at UFC Fight Night 44, Ray Borg now meets Shane Howell
The UFC Fight Night 44 lineup continues to shuffle, as Shane Howell (13-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC) replaces an injured Ryan Benoit and now faces Ray Borg (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
MMAjunkie today learned of the switch from a source close to the promotion who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to publicly discuss such matters.
The flyweight matchup now takes place on the FOX Sports 1-broadcast preliminary portion of the event, which takes place June 28 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The four-fight preliminary card precedes the evening’s six-bout main card, which also airs on FOX Sports 1.
An official announcement is expected shortly.
Borg made his promotional debut at April’s UFC on FOX 11 in Orlando, but he dropped a split decision to Dustin Ortiz for the first loss of his career. He took the fight against Ortiz on short notice, and just two weeks after a submission win over Nick Urso at Legacy FC 30.
An Oklahoma resident, Howell opened his MMA career in 2007 and was able to put together a very pedestrian 4-6 record in his first 10 fights (though one of those wins was over current UFC fighter Tim Elliott). However, Howell is 9-1 in his past 10 fights and currently boasts six consecutive victories. He enters the UFC following more than two years of inactivity, having fought most recently in March 2012.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 44 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET)
Cub Swanson vs. Jeremy Stephens
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nicholas Musoke
Andrew Craig vs. Cezar Ferreira
Hacran Dias vs. Ricardo Lamas
Clint Hester vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Joe Ellenberger vs. James Moontasri
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Colton Smith
Johnny Bedford vs. Cody Gibson
Andy Enz vs. Marcelo Guimaraes
Ray Borg vs. Shane Howell
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Anthony Hamilton vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk
