The first fight has been set for the pending UFC Fight Night Lincoln card according to MMA Today as Antonio Braga Neto faces Andrew Sanchez in a middleweight division encounter.
Neto (9-3-0-1NC) has won just one of three bouts under the UFC banner, with that lone win coming over Anthony Smith at UFC On Fuel TV 10. It has been almost five years since the last time Neto won a bout, as UFC On Fuel TV 10 took place in June of 2013. Neto has fought just twice in the last four-plus years, with those bouts being losses to Clint Hester and Trevin Giles.
Sanchez (9-4-0) will enter the contest while on a two fight losing streak, dropping bouts to the duo of Anthony Smith and Ryan Janes. Sanchez was the middleweight winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter 23, defeating Khalil Rountree in the finals of the reality show. Sanchez also suffered a pair of defeats before coming to the UFC through TUF 23, with those losses coming to UFC veterans Dustin Jacoby and Kevin Casey.
UFC Fight Night Lincoln takes place on Saturday, August 25 from the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, while broadcast plans have yet to be announced.
