Already boasting a Main Event for the ages, UFC has announced five additional undercards for its Oct. 6 UFC 229 melee in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Adding to the much anticipated Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov fight, UFC 229 will feature a flyweight contender bout, a rising UFC star and two very evenly-matched women’s bout.
Conor-Khabib may be the fight everyone will be talking about, but the additional fights all contain interesting back stories. Added to the UFC 229 card will be Sergio Pettis and Jussier Formiga facing off in a battle of flyweight contenders, Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig in a strawweight tilt between a veteran and a rising star, and Ovince Saint Preux will take on undefeated Dominick Reyes, who has has a quite a few UFC experts buzzing.
Also featured on the card will be bantamweights Lina Lansberg and Yana Kunitskaya as well as welterweights Ryan LaFlare and Tony Martin.
Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
Flyweights Pettis (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Formiga (21-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) are both strong fighters. Ranked at No. 2, Pettis will have his hands full with Formiga, who is ranked fifth. Pettis has won 6-of-7 fights, losing only one since Oct. 3, 2013. Formiga is coming off a third round submission win at UFC 221 over Ben Nguyen. He’s won 6-of-8 fights and is looking to earn his way into a rematch with Henry Cejudo, this time for a title. The two fought at UFC Fight Night 78. Rumor has it Cejudo is eyeing TJ Dillashaw for his next bout. Expect this one to be a long one, as both fighters have combined to go three rounds or more in 12 of their last 13 fights.
Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
Waterson, also known as “The Karate Hottie” is 15-6 and ranked No. 7, while Herrig (14-7) is ranked at No. 8. Both strawweights are in similar situations. While Waterson recently put an end to a modest skid of consecutive losses with a win over Cortney Casey at UFC on FOX 29, Herrig saw her four-match win streak come to an end at UFC 223 vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The duo should make for a balanced fight.
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes
Saint Preux has a 22-11 career record and is coming off a quality win over Tyson Pedro, via first-round submission, at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards. At 35, Saint Preux is not spring chicken yet he continually finds his way into the Top 10. Reyes is undefeated at 9-0 and is a rising star in the light heavyweight division. All three of Reyes’s UFC fights have ended in the first round. Handing the 28-year-old his first professional loss would be a nice feather in Saint Preux’s cap.
Lina Lansberg vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Both fighters coincidentally made their UFC debuts against the dominant UFC featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino. Lansberg (8-3) won her most recent fight against Gina Mazany. This will be her first fight on U.S. soil. Yana Kunitskaya (10-4) lost to Cyborg via first round KO but is the former Invicta FC bantamweight champion.
Ryan LaFlare vs. Ryan Laflare
LaFlare is 14-2, and is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Alex Garcia at UFC Fight Night 128 in April. Martin, who is 13-4, is fighting in the welterweight division for the second time in his UFC career. This one might take a while as LaFlare has gone to the scorecards in eight of his nine UFC matches, winning seven of them. Martin hasn’t lost in the welterweight division, going 9-0 after starting out 4-4 as a lightweight. This will be his first pay-per-view event since UFC 179.
