UFC Fight Night preview: Will 'Lionheart' get back into title picture?
Need-to-know info
Date: Wednesday, May 13
Time: Early prelims - 4:30 p.m. ET
Prelims - 5:00 p.m. ET
Main Card - 7:00 p.m ET
Venue: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville
TV: Prelims - ESPN (U.S.), TSN (Canada)
Main Card - ESPN+ (U.S.), TSN (Canada)
Smith vs. Teixeira - Light heavyweight bout
Anthony Smith will look to halt Glover Teixeira's three-fight win streak when they meet in a 205-pound contest in the evening's main event.
Smith (30-7) rebounded from his decision loss to Jon Jones, defeating former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson by submission at UFC Stockholm in June 2019.
"Lionheart" will be fighting for the first time since that bout, but he did compete twice in grappling at the Quintet Ultra event in December. The 31-year-old has only gone the distance once in his last nine fights.
Teixeira (30-7) last fought in September when he edged out a split decision victory over Nikita Krylov at UFC Vancouver. The 40-year-old has finished 25 of his 37 career opponents, with 17 of those victories coming by KO/TKO.
The winner of this matchup could find themselves back in the light heavyweight title picture.
Saint Preux vs. Rothwell - Heavyweight bout
Former 205-pound title challenger Ovince Saint Preux moves up to heavyweight for the first time in his career when he battles Ben Rothwell.
Saint Preux (24-13) snapped a two-fight skid in his last bout by submitting Michał Oleksiejczuk at UFC Copenhagen in August. The 37-year-old boasts wins over Krylov, former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and Corey Anderson.
OSP will be looking for back-to-back victories for the first time since November 2017.
Rothwell (37-12) is seeking two straight victories for the first time since January 2016. The Wisconsin native lost two fights in a row before he knocked out Stefan Struve at UFC D.C. in December.
Despite Saint Preux moving up a weight class, both have an 80-inch reach, while Rothwell owns a 1-inch height advantage.
Borg vs. Simon - Bantamweight bout
Ray Borg moves back up to the 135-pound division to face American Top Team Portland product Ricky Simon.
Borg (13-4) missed weight in four of his 11 career UFC fights and will be competing at 135 pounds for just the second time in Octagon. The former UFC title challenger is coming off back-to-back victories and has gone to the judge's scorecards in nine of his UFC bouts.
Simon (15-3) is in the midst of the worst losing streak of his career, having dropped his last two bouts. The 27-year-old last competed in December against Rob Font at UFC D.C., losing a unanimous decision.
The former LFA bantamweight champion will have a 2-inch height advantage and a 7-inch reach advantage in the matchup.
Main Card
- Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira - Light heavyweight
- Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ben Rothwell - Heavyweight
- Ray Borg vs. Ricky Simon - Bantamweight
- Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori - Middleweight
- Alex Hernandez vs. Drew Dober - Lightweight
Prelims
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras - Bantamweight
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins - Heavyweight
- Michael Johnson vs. Thiago Moises - Lightweight
- Hunter Azure vs. Brian Kelleher - Featherweight
- Chase Sherman vs. Ike Villanueva - Heavyweight
- Gabriel Benitez vs. Omar Morales - Lightweight