Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira and Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris headline May 13 and May 16 UFC cards
Better late than never.
The UFC is rescheduling a pair of main events to headline two of its upcoming shows on May 13 and May 16. MMA Junkie first reported the rebooking of the main event bouts.
The pair of headliners were previously sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both events take place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena and will be available on ESPN
Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira are expected to headline the May 13 card. The two were expected to meet originally on April 25. Alistair Overeem welcomes Walt Harris at the UFC card on May 16.
Smith comes into the bout after he was originally expected to headline in his home state of Nebraska on April 25. Most recently, Smith earned a fourth-round rear-naked choke against Alexander Gustafsson in June 2019.
Teixeira is riding a three-fight winning streak, including a split decision against Nikita Krylov in December 2019. The other string of victories include win over Ion Cutelaba and Karl Roberson.
Overeem and Harris were scheduled to clash at UFC on ESPN this past December, but Harris withdrew after the disappearance and death of his stepdaughter, Aniah Blanchard. The two were set to meet in the main event of the Portland, Oregon card on April 11, but was postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Overeem still headlined the event, losing by KO in the final four seconds to Harris’ replacement, Jarzinho Rozenstruik. Overeem earned two-consecutive finishes against Sergey Pavlovich and Aleksei Oleinik
Both events are included in four scheduled UFC cards taking place in May. UFC President Dana White announced cards for May 13, May 16 and May 23 on Thursday, April 24.
UFC 249 is the first event, slated for May 9.
