There will be a number of familiar faces on the card when Russian promotion Fight Nights Global travels to Brazil for the first time.
The organization announced Wednesday that Fight Nights Global 87 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between reigning champion Fabio Maldonado and Nikita Krylov. The card will take place in Sao Paulo on May 5 and will also see Diego Brando lock horns with Felipe Froes in the featherweight co-main event, while Elias Silverio will meet Michael Graves in another featured bout.
The 38-year-old Maldonado enters the matchup on a two-fight winning streak. He captured 205-pound gold with a third-round submission of Kurban Omarov at Fight Nights Global 73 on Sept. 4. The former professional boxer went 5-6 during a stint in the UFC from 2010 to 2015.
Since exiting the UFC, Krylov has posted a 3-0 mark, with all of those victories ending inside of two rounds. Most recently, the 26-year-old Ukraine native knocked out former Bellator MMA champion Emanuel Newton with a knee in 43 seconds at Fight Nights Global 77 on Oct. 13. Krylov went 6-3 during his UFC tenure.
FIGHT NIGHTS GL0BAL 87
5:00 p.m.
Sao Paulo. “Corinthians”. pic.twitter.com/uWsO1hUNQi
— FIGHT NIGHTS GLOBAL (@fngmma) March 28, 2018