A featherweight bout has been added to the Ultimate Fighting
Championship’s last event of the year.
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Andre
Fili (22-10) and Lucas
Almeida (14-2) are set to trade leather at
UFC 296 on Dec. 16. The booking was first announced by
Almeida on social media.
Almeida had never gone the distance in 12 pro wins when he made an
appearance on “Dana White’s Contender Series” e in 2021. While he
suffered his first pro loss against Daniel
Zellhuber via unanimous decision, Almeida got a UFC call after
picking up another finish on the regional circuit. Almeida scored a
technical knockout win over Michael
Trizano in his UFC debut in June 2022 but went on to suffer a
submission loss against veteran Pat
Sabatini this past June. The Brazilian was scheduled to fight
Wiliam Gomis at UFC Paris in September, but the 32-year-old was
forced out due to an injury.
Meanwhile, Fili has only won one of his past five outings since
2020 — a split decision victory against top prospect Bill Algeo in
September 2022. However, all of his losses have come against tough
competition, including a decision loss against English standout
Nathaniel
Wood this past September.
UFC 296 is set to go down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with
two titles on the line. In the main event, welterweight champion
Leon
Edwards will take on former interim champion Colby
Covington, while the co-main event will feature flyweight
champion Alexandre
Pantoja going up against Brandon
Royval in his first title defense.