Two fights have recently been confirmed for UFC’s December 18th event. The new matchups join a card that does not have a confirmed location at the moment.
Assuncao Looks For First Win In Years Against Simon
Decade-long UFC veteran Raphael Assuncao will attempt to break a three-fight losing streak late this year, facing Ricky Simon at bantamweight. The new match was first reported by MMA DNA last week.
The ongoing three-fight losing streak of Assuncao is the longest he has sustained in his pro career. After taking the first loss in the streak to Marlon Moraes, Assuncao took losses to Cory Sandhagen and Cody Garbrant in recent years.
Assuncao’s chance to break the streak has been delayed this year, as two different matchups in 2021 have fallen through.
Simon has won his last three bouts in the UFC, including a unanimous decision win he scored against Brian Kelleher in February.
Meerschaert To Face Newcomer Magomedov
Middleweight veteran Gerald Meershaert will attempt to spoil the UFC debut of Abusupiyan Magomedov in December. The pairing between an experienced fighter and a newcomer was first reported by Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie.
Magomedov is getting the UFC call-up after an extensive MMA career with numerous years at a high level of competition. The 31-year-old recently scored a submission win on a KSW card late last year, defeating then-undefeated Cezary Kesik via guillotine choke.
Magomedov was also notably a finalist in PFL’s 2018 middleweight season, putting together a record of three wins and one draw before losing in the finals to Louis Taylor.
Meerschaert will be attempting to end his year riding the momentum that he has built in recent months. Meerschaert has earned two submissions recently, defeating Bartosz Fabinski and Makhmud Muradov.
Updated Lineup
UFC’s December 18th card doesn’t have a main event set for it yet. Here are the bouts that have been reported thus far.
Bout 5: Nina Nunes (10-7) vs. Amanda Lemos (10-1-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 4: Anthony Hernandez (8-2) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (13-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Don’Tale Mayes (8-4) vs. Josh Parisian (14-4) (Heavyweight)
Bout 2: Raphael Assuncao (27-8) vs. Ricky Simon (18-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Gerald Meerschaert (33-14) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (24-4-1) (Middleweight)
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