A featherweight matchup between recent title challenger Ricardo Lamas and talented Brazilian Hacran Dias has been added to UFC Fight Night 44 in San Antonio.
Lamas (13-3) was defeated by Jose Aldo in the main event at UFC 169 in February. Although Lamas lost a one-sided unanimous decision, the 31-year-old Chicago native was able to get Aldo to the ground late and land some ground-and-pound to win the final round, which was a moral victory.
Dias (21-2-1) had a nine-fight win streak snapped last May when he lost a close decision to Nik Lentz. Since signing with the UFC in April 2012, Dias has dealt with a slew of injuries and fought just twice for the organization — he beat Iuri Alcantara in his promotional debut at UFC 147.
The event takes place on June 28 and is headlined by Cub Swanson vs Jeremy Stephens.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC Fight Night: Brown vs Silva live Saturday on Sportsnet 360 with prelims starting at 8 p.m. EST and the main card at 10 p.m. EST
In other UFC news…
— A welterweight bout between veterans Rick Story and John Howard has been added to UFC Fight Night 45 in Atlantic City. Story (16-8) is coming off a split decision loss to TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 171 in March, while Howard (22-9) dropped a unanimous decision to Ryan LaFlare in Abu Dhabi in April.
— Flyweight standouts John Lineker and Alptekin Ozkilic will also meet on the meet on the Atlantic City card. Lineker (23-7) had a four-fight win streak snapped when Ali Bagautinov outclassed him for three rounds at UFC 169; Ozkilic (9-2) lost a unanimous decision to Louis Smolka in January in his most recent fight.
— Women’s bantamweight star Shayna Baszler will make her UFC debut against Bethe Correia at UFC 176 in Los Angeles on Aug. 2. Baszler (15-8) is coming off a stint on TUF 18 where she lost to eventual winner Julianna Pena. Correia (8-0), meanwhile, is 2-0 in the UFC and coming off a win over Baszler’s teammate Jessamyn Duke at UFC 172. After the event, Correia challenged Baszler’s entire team, which also features UFC champion Ronda Rousey. UFC 176 is headlined by Jose Aldo vs Chad Mendes.
— Conor McGregor vs Cole Miller will headline the UFC’s return to Ireland when they meet at UFC Fight Night 46 in Dublin on July 19. A dynamic flyweight bout between Brad Pickett and Ian McCall is also scheduled for the event.
