Two light heavyweight bouts added to UFC Brooklyn on ESPN+
Glover Teixeira defeated Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 208 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Feb. 11, 2017. Credit: Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger
A pair of light heavyweight bouts have been added to UFC's ESPN+ debut card on Jan. 19, 2019, at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
Glover Teixeira will face Ion Cutelaba, and Alonzo Menifield will fight Vinicius Moreira Castro, a UFC official said.
Teixeira (27-7) has lost two of his last three fights, including his most recent bout in July via unanimous decision to Corey Anderson. Teixeira, 39, once a top title contender in the division is 5-5 since 2014. A shoulder injury prevented him from fighting last September against Jimi Manuwa.
Cutelaba (14-3, 1 no contest) won each of his last two bouts via first-round stoppage, the most recent being last July against Gadzhimurad Antigulov.
Menifield (7-0) fought his way into the UFC via Dana White's "Contender" series. He won his fight via TKO in 2017, but he didn't earn a UFC contract until the following year when he again won via first-round knockout. Menifield has stopped all seven of his opponents so far, with only two making it out of the first round.
Moreira Castro (9-1) also fought his way into the UFC via the Brazilian edition of Dana White's "Contender" series. He submitted his opponent in the second round last September.
UFC Brooklyn fight card so far
Paige VanZant vs. Rachael Ostovich
Belal Muhammad vs. Geoff Neal
Glover Teixeira vs. Ion Cutelaba
Alonzo Menifield vs. Vinicius Moreira Castro
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
