UFC signs flyweights Ryan Benoit, Josh Sampo for fight at TUF 18 Finale in Las Vegas
Next week’s Season 18 live finale for “The Ultimate Fighter†has a new flyweight bout added to the docket, and the UFC has two new prospects added to its 125-pound division.
Newcomers Ryan Benoit (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Josh Sampo (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) have signed to make their promotional debuts against each other on the card. UFC officials announced the fight booking on Wednesday.
The TUF 18 Finale takes place Nov. 30 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on MMAjunkie. In the main event, lightweights Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard meet for the third time (but just second time on the record books since their first fight took place on “TUF 5″). The card also features the women’s and men’s bantamweight tournament finals for the current 18th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.†The men’s pairing will be announced on tonight’s show, which airs at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
Benoit’s recent experience comes for Legacy Fighting Championship and Maximum Fighting Championship. For Legacy, he has gone 4-0, including a first-round stoppage of Cody Fuller in October at Legacy FC 24. That got him back in the win column following a loss to Anthony Birchak in MFC’s first bantamweight fight – a bout that was heralded as one of the best in that promotion’s history. All seven of Benoit’s victories have come by stoppage with six knockouts and a submission.
Sampo, Championship Fighting Alliance’s flyweight champ, comes into the bout with a four-fight winning streak that includes a win over UFC and WEC veteran Antonio Banuelos at Legacy FC 14 and a fifth-round submission of Bellator vet Alexis Vila at CFA 9 in January. Half of the Missouri native’s wins have come by stoppage. His two losses are to respectable names in UFC vet Will Campuzano and WEC vet Mike French.
With the addition, the latest TUF 18 Finale card now includes:
Nate Diaz vs. Gray Maynard
TBA vs. TBA – “TUF 18″ men’s tournament final
TBA vs. TBA – “TUF 18″ women’s tournament final
Walter Harris vs. Jared Rosholt
Maximo Blanco vs. Akira Corassani
Tom Niinimaki vs. Rani Yahya
Drew Dober vs. Sean Spencer
Ryan Benoit vs. Josh Sampo
