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UFC 264 has added two exciting welterweights to the lineup.
The promotion announced Thursday that Michel Pereira (25-11, 2 NC) and Niko Price (14-4, 2 NC) will fight at the July 10 pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout was first reported by Ag. Fight.
Known for his in-cage gymnastics, Pereira has been getting results too, defeating Khaos Williams and Zelim Imadaev in his past two outings. “Demolidor” made a spectacular debut with the UFC in May 2019, knocking Danny Roberts out in under two minutes before dropping back-to-back fights to Tristan Connelly and Diego Sanchez (the latter by disqualification after landing an illegal knee).
Pereira is set to return to the Octagon after a three-fight year in 2020, with his hope being that he can extend his winning streak to three after victories over Zelim Imadaev and Khaos Williams.
On the flip side, Niko Price needs to get back on the horse after a difficult year in 2020. He was stopped by Vicente Luque after a doctor deemed him unable to continue, and then against Donald Cerrone, he was deducted one point for repeated eye pokes which meant he wound up with a majority draw instead of a win. After that, the bout was ruled a no contest when it was revealed Price tested positive for carboxy THC.
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Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
This is the UFC Vegas 26 live blog for Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Morono, the welterweight co-headliner for Saturday’s fight card at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
The welterweight bout came together after Cerrone’s originally scheduled opponent,
The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner and former teammate Diego Sanchez, was removed from the bout and released from the UFC after he declined to certify he wasn’t suffering from any neurological issues, as MMA Fighting previously reported.
Octagon veteran Alex Morono stepped up on short notice to accept the bout with Cerrone, who is officially 0-4 with one no-contest in his previous five bouts. Cerrone’s most recent win came in May 2019 with a decision over Al Iaquinta.
With Islam Makhachev a last-minute withdrawal from this weekend’s UFC on ESPN+ 41 main event with a staph infection, the hard-hitting Paul Felder has stepped in on short notice to take on Rafael dos Anjos.
This fight will be the first time the Brazilian former lightweight champion competes at 155 pounds since his 2016 loss to Tony Ferguson. For Felder, it marks a return to action after he hinted at retirement following his controversial loss to Dan Hooker. An impressive performance this weekend may cause Felder to consider sticking around to make one more run at lightweight gold now that Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired.