Three big bouts in the works for UFC 223 in Brooklyn

On April 7, the UFC will make its second stop in Brooklyn, New York with UFC 223. Although this card is still some distance away, it’s already coming together. Over the last few days, three new bouts have been targeted for the event, and they’re all solid additions.

The first of these new matchups, which was reported by FloCombat, will occur in the lightweight division, where Al Iaquinta is expected to battle Paul Felder.

Paul Felder will enter this fight on an impressive three-fight streak, having recently stopped Alessandro Ricci, Stevie Ray and Charles Oliveira. This streak was preceded by a doctor stoppage loss to Francisco Trinaldo. “The Irish Dragon” is currently 7-3 in the UFC, and 15-3 overall.

Al Iaquinta, meanwhile, last fought in April, when he levelled Diego Sanchez with a first-round punch. With this win, he extended his current streak to five-straight, as he’s also recently bested Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, Ross Pearson and Rodrigo Damm. He’s 8-2 in the UFC and 13-3-1 overall.

The second new bout being reported for this UFC 223 card will occur at strawweight, where former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz is expected to collide with dangerous veteran Felice Herrig. This bout was first reported by MMANytt.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz last fought in October, when she defeated Jodie Esquibel by unanimous decision. This victory marked her return to the win column after back-to-back losses to former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and long-time contender Claudia Gadelha. She’s 4-2 in the UFC and 11-2 in sum.

Felice Herrig, meanwhile, is on an impressive, four-fight streak composed of wins over solid foes in Kailin Curran, Alexa Grasso, Justine Kish, and Courtney Casey. She’s 4-1 in the UFC and 14-6 overall.

The third bout currently being targeted for this April card will also go down at lightweight, where Mairbek Taisumov is expected to fight Evan Dunham. This bout was reported by Farah Hannoun on Twitter.

This bout will mark Mairbek Taisumov’s opportunity to build on the momentum of consecutive knockout wins over Marcin Bandel, Anthony Christodoulou, Alan Patrick, Damir Hadžović, and Felipe Silva. He’s 6-1 in the UFC, and 27-5 overall. 

Dunham, meanwhile, last fought in October when he battled Beneil Dariush to a majority draw. This draw was preceded by four-straight wins over Rodrigo Damm, Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon and Rick Glenn. He’s 18-6-1 overall.

What do you think of these new additions to the UFC 223 lineup? Who are you picking in these fights? Join the conversation in the comments section.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/15/2018.