Pablo Garza
11th bout added to May 5 card in New Jersey
The UFC’s next Fox card has filled up rapidly since its announcement, and on Friday the promotion added a featherweight bout to the event.
Pablo Garza and Dennis Bermudez have agreed to meet at UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller, which takes place May 5 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The UFC on Friday announced the fight, which is expected to take place on the preliminary card.
Garza (11-2, 2-1 UFC) in November lost for the first time in the UFC, tapping out to a D’Arce choke against Dustin Poirier at the UFC’s first card on Fox. That loss snapped a two-fight streak with the promotion that saw him win Knockout of the Night honors in his debut for a devastating flying knee against Fredson Paixao at the TUF 12 Finale and a Submission of the Night bonus at the historic UFC 129 card in Toronto for his flying triangle choke against Yves Jabouin.
“The Scarecrow,” a North Dakota native, started his career 9-0 before signing with the WEC on just five days notice to face Tiequan Zhang in September 2010. He was submitted in the first round for his first career loss.
Bermudez (7-3, 0-1 UFC) reached the finals of the Season 14 featherweight field of “The Ultimate Fighter” in December, but was submitted by winner Diego Brandao late in the first round. Bermudez, despite heavy underdog status, showed remarkable success in the first round against Brandao – nearly finishing the Brazilian. But Brandao mounted a furious comeback and Bermudez tapped to an armbar with just nine seconds left in the first frame.
Bermudez started his career 7-0, but is in the midst of a three-fight skid. Before joining the cast of TUF 14, Bermudez dropped a semifinal bout in Shine Fights’ one-night lightweight tournament to UFC vet Drew Fickett. He followed that up with a submission loss to Jordan Rinaldi two months later in a regional fight in Pennsylvania. Those losses led to his drop from lightweight to featherweight.
UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller is set to feature a lightweight contenders main event between TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz and Jim Miller, plus a welterweight contenders bout between Josh Koscheck and Johny Hendricks, a middleweight bout between Alan Belcher and Rousimar Palhares and a heavyweight bout between Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson.