UFC on FX 4 adds Miller-Funch, Story-Attonito, Riddle-Ramos, Ebersole-Waldburger
UFC on FX 4's dance card is quickly filling.
The promotion announced a quartet of new welterweight bouts for the event, which takes place June 22 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
Additions for the card include Dan Miller (13-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) vs. Ricardo Funch (8-3 MMA, 0-3 UFC), Rick Story (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Rich Attonito (10-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), Matt Riddle (6-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) vs. Luis Ramos (19-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and Brian Ebersole (49-14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. T.J. Waldburger (15-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC).
The event's main card airs live on FX while preliminary-card fights air on FUEL TV. It's not clear where the above fights will be placed on the lineup.
UFC on FX 4 is the promotion's first trip to Atlantic City in seven years after UFC 53 took place at Boardwalk Hall.
Miller, a longtime middleweight, makes the drop to welterweight out of nothing less than career necessity. The well-liked New Jersey native is 2-5 since a three-fight win streak that began his UFC career, which most recently includes losses to Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares. Although personal and short-notice circumstances have certainly put a harder road in front of him than most, he needs nothing less than an impressive showing to secure his job in the octagon.
Funch is on the rails, as well, having dropped all three of his UFC appearances. Losses to Johny Hendricks, Claude Patrick and, most recently, Mike Pyle have made his octagon career an affair to forget. However, they are the only setbacks in his professional career, and the native Brazilian holds a notable win over Waldburger four years ago.
Story is still trying to regain momentum and may be close to a pink slip. After a six-fight streak saw him earn key wins over Hendricks and Thiago Alves, he's fallen short in his past two outings against Charlie Brenneman and Martin Kampmann.
Attonito, a veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter 11," seems more hot and cold. After emerging from the reality show with a win over the season's bad boy, Jamie Yager, he's hopscotched between wins and losses in his past four outings. While he's outpointed Rafael Natal and Daniel Roberts, he's fallen short to Dave Branch and Jake Hecht. Consistency is what's needed.
Riddle, a "TUF" vet who's fought his entire professional career in the octagon, recently righted his ship with a split-decision win over Henry Martinez, which reversed a two-fight slide in bouts against Sean Pierson and Lance Benoist.
Standing across from Riddle is Ramos, who is in bad need of a good second impression. The native Brazilian was knocked out in 40 seconds by Erick Silva at UFC 140, which served as his octagon debut. The setback snapped a three-fight win streak.
Finally, Ebersole hopes to make it four in a row after a late-career turnaround that's seen him buck expectations. The longtime veteran and Austrailian transplant most recently outpointed Patrick by split decision, which built on wins over Chris Lytle and Dennis Hallman. Including bouts on the regional circuit, his win streak extends to 10 bouts over a span of four years.
Ebersole's opponent, Waldburger, hasn't been around nearly as long, but he also has momentum on his side. Fighting four times since his octagon debut in September 2010, he's bested his two most recent opponents, Mike Stumpf and Hecht, by first-round submission. A setback to Hendricks stands as the only blemish on his UFC resume.
The latest UFC on FX 4 card includes:
Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard
Brian Ebersole vs. T.J. Waldburger
Ricardo Funch vs. Dan Miller
Rich Attonito vs. Rick Story
Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle
Chis Camozzi vs. Nick Catone*
* - Not officially announced
