Taisumov vs. Dunham set for UFC 223
Mairbek Taisumov (R) kicks Tae Hyun Bang during their UFC Fight Night Singapore lightweight bout at Marina Bay Sands on January 4, 2014 in Singapore. Credit: Getty Images / Suhaimi Abdullah
Mairbek Taisumov has yet to compete in a UFC fight in America. Seven fights, all in other countries, continents and hemispheres.
That will change on April 7 at UFC 223 in Brooklyn when Taisumov faces Evan Dunham in a lightweight bout.
The booking had been reported last month by several outlets, but had yet to be added officially to the card at Barclays Center until Tuesday.
Dunham (18-6-1) is coming off a draw against Beneil Dariush last October. Before that, Dunham had won four in a row, including decisions over Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson. Dunham is ranked No. 14 in the UFC lightweight division and will be the first ranked opponent for Taisumov.
Taisumov (26-5), from Russia, has won five straight, most recently in September 2017. All five of those wins have been by knockout in either the first or second round. He has three straight performance of the night bonuses. Taisumov told MMAFighting.com last month that visa issues has held up his career.
A UFC official said Tuesday there are no indications of any issues regarding Taisumov’s visa for this fight.
UFC 223 fight card
Lightweight title: Champion Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Women’s strawweight title: Champion Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Other bouts
Al Iaquinta vs. Paul Felder
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Joe Lauzon vs. Chris Gruetzemacher
Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno
Renato Moicano vs. Calvin Kattar
Alex Caceres vs. Artem Lobov
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Bec Rawlings
Evan Dunham vs. Mairbek Taisumov
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.