The first UFC pay-per-view card of 2016 is starting to take shape, and it looks like it may turn out to be a showcase for some of the welterweight division’s most impressive strikers. We already knew that UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler’s title defense against Carlos Condit is set to be the main event, and yesterday, we learned that Stipe Miocic vs. Andrei Arlovski will be the co-main event in a battle of top heavyweight contenders.
Today, as reported by MMAJunkie, two new fights were announced, both at welterweight. In a battle of two rising, ranked contenders, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will take on Neil Magny. On top of that, in a clash of two fighters just outside of the top 15, Albert “Einstein” Tumenov will fight Lorenz Larkin. Thompson burst into the top 10 in July with a first round spinning hook kick knockout of Jake Ellenberger in July, while Magny has gotten up to number 12 by winning eight of his last nine.Tumenov is coming off a brutal first round knockout win over Alan Jouban at UFC 192, Larkin has gone 2-0 since dropping to welterweight, and both are incredibly fun to watch.
