Jonathan Brookins
Simpson-Markes, Brookins-Yahya added to Feb. 15 Omaha show
A pair of fights has been added to the UFC’s first fight card on Fuel TV when the UFC returns to Omaha, Neb., in February.
Aaron Simpson will meet Ronny Markes at middleweight and Jonathan Brookins will meet Rani Yahya in a featherweight bout. The UFC announced the inclusion of the two fights Wednesday night.
Simpson (11-2, 6-2 UFC) brings a three-fight winning streak, all unanimous decisions, into the Feb. 15 card. At UFC 136 in October, he beat Eric Schafer. Before his streak, he had back-to-back losses to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz, the first two losses of his professional career. Markes (12-1, 1-0 UFC) won his UFC debut in August with a unanimous decision win over Karlos Vemola. That fight took place at light heavyweight, as Markes made his debut filling in for an injured Stephan Bonnar. He will bring a five-fight winning streak into the bout with Simpson.
Brookins (12-4, 1-1 UFC), the Season 12 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” at lightweight, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Erik Koch at featherweight in September. That setback snapped a four-fight streak for the WEC and Bellator veteran. Yahya (16-7, 1-1 UFC) has lost three of his last four fights, including a unanimous decision loss to Chad Mendes at UFC 133 in August.
The UFC’s debut on the Fuel TV channel takes place Feb. 15 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha. The main event features a welterweight bout between Omaha native and resident Jake Ellenberger and former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Dave “Pee Wee” Herman.