Chris Wade to face Frankie Perez at UFC’s first Nassau Coliseum event
Chris Wade celebrates defeating Mehdi Baghdad (not pictured) in their lightweight bout during UFC Fight Night 81 at TD Banknorth Garden on Jan. 17, 2016 in Boston. Credit: Getty Images / Maddie Meyer
Chris Wade has been waiting for several months to book his next fight in the UFC.
At least he won’t have to travel too far when he does step back into the octagon.
Wade, who wrestled at Islip High School and trains at Long Island MMA in Farmingdale, has been added to UFC on Fox 25 at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum on July 22.
Wade will fight Frankie Perez in a lightweight bout on the card, the promotion’s first on Long Island and fifth in the state since New York overturned the ban in March 2016.
Wade (11-3, 4-2 UFC) began his UFC career with four straight wins. But he lost his last two fights to Russian sambo specialists Rustam Khabilov and Islam Makhachev. He hasn’t fought since the decision loss to Makhachev last September.
Perez, from New Jersey, is coming off a loss last December at UFC Albany. Perez (10-3, 1-2) lost a unanimous decision to Marc Diakiese.
Tickets for the event go on sale June 2.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
