It didn’t take long for Mauricio Rua to get a new opponent for the UFC Fight Night Hamburg main event after the removal of Volkan Oezdemir, as ESPN is reporting that Anthony Smith has accepted the short notice opportunity.
Rua (25-10-0) enters the contest on a three fight winning streak, defeating the trio of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Corey Anderson and Gian Villante. Rua is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, defeating Lyoto Machida to win the gold at UFC 113. Rua has seen his last three fights go all the way into the third round, with two of those bouts going to the judges scorecards.
Smith (29-13-0) has been undefeated since moving up to the 205 pound division, having defeated former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans at UFC 225. Smith had previously fought ath middleweight during his two runs in the UFC, compiling a 4-3-0 record in that weight class. Smith has earned a total of twenty nine victories as a professional MMA fighter, with twenty six of those wins coming by KO/TKO and/or submission.
UFC Fight Night Hamburg takes place on Sunday, July 22 from the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany with Mauricio Rua and Anthony Smith headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
