Report: Matt Brown to face Miguel Baeza in Ohio on ESPN
Riding a two-fight winning streak veteran welterweight Matt Brown will get the opportunity to fight in his backyard. According to Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, Brown will face Miguel Baeza at UFC on ESPN 8 which is scheduled to take place on March 28 in Columbus, Ohio.
Born in Jamestown, Ohio, Brown fights out of Columbus where he runs his own gym, Immortal Martial Arts. This will be the first time that Brown has fought in Ohio since he headlined UFC Fight Night 40 in 2014, against Erick Silva where he picked up a TKO victory and secured a Performance Of The Night bonus.
Brown mentioned that he would be fighting on the card earlier on Thursday but Baeza was not revealed as the opponent until the initial report from MMA Fighting.
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After dropping three in a row, Brown has reeled off back-to-back wins over Diego Sanders and most recently Ben Saunders at UFC 245 this past December. During his post-fight interview, Brown called for a spot on the Ohio card and now will get the opportunity.
This will be the second fight with the UFC for Miguel Baeza since landing a contract as a winner on Dana White’s Contender Series. After saying he felt disappointed in his performance which earned him a UFC contract, Baeza put on an incredible performance against Hector Aldana with a series of leg kicks and ground-and-pound that got him his first victory with the UFC.
UFC on ESPN 8 is scheduled to be headlined by a heavyweight contest between former title challenger Francis Ngannou and Jair Rozenstruik in a possible title eliminator in the heavyweight division.
Fights scheduled for UFC on ESPN 8:
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- Raphael Assuncao vs Cody Garbrandt
- Greg Hardy vs Yorgan de Castro
- Sam Alvey vs Khalil Rountree Jr
- Louis Smolka vs Davey Grant
- Tecia Torres vs Mizuki Inoue
- Randy Costa vs Martin Day
- Julianna Pena vs Aspen Ladd
- Matt Brown vs. Miguel Baeza
