UFC 169 adds Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov, Rashid Magomedov vs. Tony Martin
The influx of Russian fighters to the UFC will continue on Super Bowl weekend in New Jersey.
Three fighters have been added to the UFC’s stable, including a pair from Russia, and they’ll debut at UFC 169 in February. Neil Magny (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) will meet newcomer Gasan Umalatov (14-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in a welterweight bout, while Rashid Magomedov (15-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on American debutant Tony Martin (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at lightweight.
The UFC announced the new fight bookings on Tuesday.
UFC 169 takes place on Feb. 1 at Prudential Center at Newark, N.J. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view while prelims are expected to air on FOX Sports 1. A pair of title fights headline the Super Bowl Saturday card as bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz returns to meet interim champ Renan Barao in a title unification bout, and featherweight champ Jose Aldo defends against Ricardo Lamas.
Magny will get what might be his last shot in the UFC. The Chicago-area native, who now trains at the esteemed Grudge Training Center near Denver, has lost back-to-back fights following a solid run on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter†that saw him reach the semifinals. He was one of just four fighters to get UFC fights after that season of the show, and he beat Jon Manley by unanimous decision at UFC 157 earlier this year. But in August, he was submitted by Sergio Moraes at UFC 163 in Brazil, then was outpointed by Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night 31 in November.
Umalatov signs with the UFC with eight wins in his past nine fights. The Russian former middleweight has fought under the M-1 Challenge and GLORY banners. Half of the 31-year-old’s 14 career wins have come by submission. His training partners at the Fight Nights camp in Russia include recent UFC flyweight signee Ali Bagautinov, as well as Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov.
Magomedov comes in on an eight-fight winning streak and also has many of his fights for M-1 Challenge. It’s been more than a year since he most recently fought, however. The 29-year-old has eight of his 15 wins by stoppage, including seven knockouts.
Martin, who turned pro in 2012, fights out of Minneapolis and has built a 7-0 record to start his career with five submissions. In September, he improved to 3-0 for the calendar year with a submission on a local show in Minnesota.
With the additions to the card, UFC 169 now includes:
Champ Dominick Cruz vs. interim champ Renan Barao – bantamweight title unification bout
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas – for featherweight title
Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem
Chris Cariaso vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Nick Catone vs. Tom Watson
John Makdessi vs. Alan Patrick
Al Iaquinta vs. Kevin Lee
Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov
Rashid Magomedov vs. Tony Martin
