Garbrandt, Almeida to meet in main event at Fight Night 88
Unbeaten bantamweight prospects Cody Garbrandt and Thomas Almeida will meet in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card at Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 29, the organization officially announced Saturday.
UFC Fight Night 88 will also feature the featherweight debut of former bantamweight champ Renan Barao, who will fight Jeremy Stephens.
Barao lost the 135-pound title to T.J. Dillashaw in 2014 and lost a rematch for the belt last year. He has also had issues making the weight, including an incident that forced him to pull out of the first scheduled rematch with Dillashaw the night before the fight, prompting the move up a division.
Almeida, who is 20-0 as a professional, has won his last three by knockout and is 4-0 since signing with the UFC. The 24-year-old Brazilian has won fight-night bonuses for all four of his UFC bouts.
Garbrandt, also 24, has knocked out two of his three UFC opponents and is 8-0 overall.
The main card also includes a pair of key welterweight bouts as Rick Story takes on Tarec Saffiedine and Lorenz Larkin fights Jorge Masvidal.
Also, Paul Felder will fight Josh Burkman and Vitor Miranda steps in against Chris Camozzi in a middleweight bout.
Abel Trujillo, who was supposed to compete on the card in Australia on Saturday only to be forced out due to visa issues, has been added to the preliminary card in a lightweight bout against Diego Ferreira.
At least two more bouts, likely female fights, are expected to be added to the card.
The event, which will take place on a Sunday, will air on Fox Sports 1.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
UFC Fight Night 88
Mandalay Bay Events Center
May 29
Fox Sports 1
Main Card
Bantamweights, Cody Garbrandt vs. Thomas Almeida
Featherweights, Jeremy Stephens vs. Renan Barao
Welterweights, Rick Story vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Middleweights, Vitor Miranda vs. Chris Camozzi
Welterweights, Lorenz Larkin vs. Jorge Masvidal
Lightweights, Paul Felder vs. Josh Burkman
Preliminary Card
Lightweights, Diego Ferreira vs. Abel Trujillo
Lightweights, Joe Proctor vs. Erik Koch
Middleweights, Keith Berish vs. Jake Collier
Heavyweights, Adam Milstead vs. Chris De La Rocha
