Calgary featherweight (Mean) Hakeem Dawodu will face American Julian (Juicy J) Erosa on the undercard of UFC 279 next month in Las Vegas.
The high-profile main event of the Sept. 10 card at the T-Mobile Arena pits unbeaten Russian Khamzat Chimaev, ranked third among welterweight contenders, against fan favourite Nick Diaz, who last fought in June 2021.
Dawodu (13-2-1) is coming off a unanimous decision victory June 4 over American Michael (The Lone Wolf) Trizano and has won six of his last seven UFC outings. He is 6-2-0 in the organization.
Erosa (27-9-0) is 4-1-0 in the UFC and has won his last two fights, including a submission win over Canadian Charles (Air) Jourdain last September.
Dawodu joins fellow Canadian Chad (The Monster) Anheliger (12-5-0) on the UFC 279 card. The Alberta bantamweight, who trains in Calgary but calls suburban Airdrie home, faces China’s Heili (The Mongolian Knight) Alateng (15-8-2).
Veteran Canadian flyweight Gillian (The Savage) Robertson (10-7-0) returns to action Sept. 17 against Kazakhstan’s Mariya (Demonslayer) Agapova on a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. Robertson was initially slated to fight Melissa Gato on the card but the Brazilian withdrew due to injury, according to the UFC.
A native of Niagara Falls, Ont., who trains out of Coconut Creek, Fla., Robertson is coming off a submission loss to J.J. Aldrich in a March fight she took on short notice. Robertson is 7-5-0 in the UFC.
Agapova lost to Ukraine’s Maryna (The Iron Lady) Moroz at UFC 272 in March. She is 2-2-0 in the UFC.
The main event on the Sept. 17 card at the UFC Apex production facility features American Cory Sandhagen, ranked fourth among bantamweight contenders, and No. 10 Song Yadong of China.
The card also sees Alberta heavyweight Tanner (The Bulldozer) Bozer take on Brazil’s Rodrigo Nascimento and middleweight Marc-Andre (Power Bar) Barriault of Gatineau, Que., face American Anthony (Fluffy) Hernandez.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 3, 2022.
