Kyle Kingsbury
Light heavyweights booked for May 26 card in Las Vegas
After having his four-fight winning streak snapped last fall, Kyle Kingsbury will look to get back in the win column against a highly touted UFC newcomer.
Kingsburgy will meet Glover Teixeira at UFC 146 in May. UFC officials announced the fight late Wednesday, saying verbal agreements are in place for the light heavyweight bout. The fight will be part of the promotion’s annual Memorial Day weekend pay-per-view in Las Vegas, which will take place May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Though not officially announced by the UFC, the targeted main event of the card is a heavyweight title fight between champion Junior dos Santos and top contender Alistair Overeem. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta recently said on his Twitter feed that event was the plan for dos Santos’ first defense of the belt he took from Cain Velasquez in November. Overeem, the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, beat former UFC champ Brock Lesnar in December to become the No. 1 contender.
Kingsbury (11-3, 1 NC, 4-2 UFC) last fought at UFC 139 in his home town of San Jose, Calif., losing a unanimous decision to Stephan Bonnar. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter, a TUF 8 contestant, had built up a streak of four straight fights after losing his UFC debut to Tom Lawlor on the TUF 8 Finale – including Fight of the Night wins over Fabio Maldonado and Jared Hamman.
Teixeira (17-2), a Brazilian who has been pro for 10 years, brings a 15-fight winning streak into his UFC debut. His last loss came against UFC veteran Ed Herman in his fourth career fight. The John Hackelman-trained fighter, who has four WEC fights on his resume (pre-Zuffa era) has notable wins over Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Marvin Eastman and Ricco Rodriguez.
Officials did not announce the placement of the Kingsbury-Teixeira fight on the show. The main card will air on pay-per-view, and the prelims are expected to be broadcast on the FX cable channel. Other fights already announced for the card include a middleweight fight between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and C.B. Dollaway; a lightweight fight between Evan Dunham and Edson Barboza; a heavyweight clash between Shane del Rosario and Gabriel Gonzaga; and a welterweight bout between Dan Hardy and Duane Ludwig.