UFC 148 adds welterweights Maia vs. Kim, middleweights Fukuda vs. Philippou
UFC 148's fight card continues to fill as the promotion today announced a pair of new matchups, including the welterweight debut of onetime middleweight challenger Demian Maia.
Maia (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (15-1-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and middleweights Riki Fukuda (18-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Constantinos Philippou (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) are set for the event, which takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Main-card fights air live on pay-per-view while FX is expected to carry the prelims.
UFC 148 features a headliner between bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber, who serve as opposing coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter: Live."
Two months after he was outpointed by middleweight prospect Chris Weidman at UFC on FOX 2, Maia announced this week that he planned to drop to 170 pounds. Although his run at middleweight began with five consecutive wins that earned him a shot at Anderson Silva, he struggled with consistency after a losing effort against the champ in a bizarre fight at UFC 112. Losses to Mark Munoz and Weidman offset wins over Mario Miranda, Kendall Grove and Jorge Santiago.
Dropping to welterweight also might help Maia's finishing rate; the Brazilian submission ace has gone to the scorecards in his past seven outings.
Kim hopes to bulk up his resume with a win over a former title challenger. In his most recent appearance, "Stun Gun" got back on the winning track with a decision victory over Sean Pierson, which helped ease the sting of a knockout loss to now-interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit this past July at UFC 132. It was the first true loss of the Korean's octagon career, though a decision setback to Karo Parisyan at UFC 94 was later overturned when Parisyan failed a post-fight drug test.
Meanwhile, middleweight Fukuda hopes to make it two in a row after he outpointed Steve Cantwell this past month at UFC 144. The former DEEP champion stumbled in his octagon debut at UFC 127 against Nick Ring and lost a controversial unanimous decision.
Although Philippou also had a rough start in his first UFC fight, he's rebounded as of late with three consecutive victories. Most recently, he earned a key decision over "The Ultimate Fighter 11" winner Court McGee, which built on wins over Jared Hamman and Jorge Rivera. Nick Catone outpointed him in his first octagon outing at UFC 128.
