The UFC 301 lineup now features 14 bouts after the addition of a pair of lightweight contests.
Vinc Pichel and Ismael Bonfim, who were originally booked to meet this past November at UFC Sao Paulo, have agreed to collide on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. Also, Jamie Mullarkey face octagon newcomer Mauricio Ruffy.
Marcel Dorff and Laerte Vianna first reported the match-ups.
Pichel (14-3) flew to Brazil to face Bonfim in November but decided not to fight after “Marreta” missed weight, walking to the scale at 159.5 pounds. Pichel took on social media at the time to criticize the Brazilian prospect.
“My opponent didn’t even try to make weight and I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism, which I’m sure he regrets,” he wrote. “I am huge on self responsibility and he showed none by his actions and by missing weight by so much, so I decided to give him some for his actions.”
Pichel was on a three-fight winning streak before dropping a decision to Mark Madsen in his most recent bout in April 2022. Bonfim (19-4) knocked out Terrance McKinney in his debut before tapping to a rear-naked choke to Benoit Saint Denis this past July.
Mullarkey (17-7) will attempt to rebound from a loss to Nasrat Haqparast when he faces Sao Paulo’s Ruffy (9-1) in May. A teammate of Jean Silva and Caio Borralho at Fighting Nerds, also set to compete at UFC 301, Ruffy is on a four-fight winning streak, capped off by a late finish over Raimond Magomedaliev at Dana White’s Contender Series.
UFC 301 will be headlined by flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja taking on Steve Erceg. UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo returns from retirement to battle Jonathan Martinez in the co-main event.
Check the updated lineup below.