Sports
Smith vs. Teixeira, Overeem vs. Harris Set for UFC Fight Night Main Events
John Locher/Associated PressUFC President Dana White revealed the main events for the UFC Fight Nights scheduled to be held on May 13 and 16 in Jacksonville, Florida.During an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, White said a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira will headline the May 13 card, while a heavyweight clash…
John Locher/Associated Press
UFC President Dana White revealed the main events for the UFC Fight Nights scheduled to be held on May 13 and 16 in Jacksonville, Florida.
During an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, White said a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira will headline the May 13 card, while a heavyweight clash between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris will main-event on May 16:
ESPN MMA @espnmma
Dana White had confirmed the main events for UFC Fight Nights on May 13 and 16.
(via @bokamotoESPN) https://t.co/gIjMxayW3h
UFC has not held a show since March 14 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Multiple attempts to put on events have fallen apart, but UFC has plans in place to hold UFC 249 on May 9 followed by the two Fight Night shows.
In the 205-pound division, Smith is currently ranked third, while Teixeira is eighth. Smith is 33-14 and most recently beat Alexander Gustafsson by submission last June, while Teixeira is 30-7 and on a three-fight winning streak with victories over Karl Roberson, Ion Cutelaba and Nikita Krylov.
Both Smith and Teixeira have lost light heavyweight championship fights to Jon Jones, but a win for either of them would move them closer to title contention. Smith is just over one year removed from losing to Jones by unanimous decision.
The bout set to close UFC Fight Night on May 16 is a battle between the No. 8 heavyweight in Overeem and the No. 9 heavyweight in Harris.
Overeem is a former UFC heavyweight champion who has struggled recently with three losses in his past five fights. That includes a knockout defeat at the hands of Jairzinho Rozenstruik in December. Overall, Overeem is 45-18 in his long and successful career.
Meanwhile, the 13-7 Harris has won each of his past three decisions. He was also given Performance of the Night honors in wins over Sergey Spivak and Aleksei Oleinik in his past two bouts.
Given how well Harris has performed since a loss to Mark Godbeer in 2017, a win against Overeem would be a huge step in the right direction as he attempts to earn a title shot against Stipe Miocic.
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