Australian based fighters Ben Wall & Soa Palelei have both been confirmed for the UFC’s return to Cincinnati. Ben Wall drops back down to lightweight and will come up against Justin Salas, while Perth based heavyweight Soa Palelei faces Ruan Potts.
The UFC Fight Night card will be held at the US Bank Arena in Ohio, USA on 10 May (11 May in Australia).
A TUF Smashes cast-member, Ben Wall stepped up a weight division and on late notice at UFC Fight Night 33. Subsequently the 24 year-old suffered his first professional defeat with the end coming 43-seconds into the fight at the hands of Alex Garcia. Prior to that, Wall had defeated Jai Bradney and Robert Lisita.
His opponent Justin Salas will bring a 11-5 professional record into the fight, and has had mixed results in his four appearances in the UFC. His two wins in the UFC have come against Anton Kuivanen and Aaron Riley, with losses coming to Tim Means and most recently against Thiago Tavares. Prior to being signed to the UFC, Salas had defeated the likes of Robert Emerson and Joe Ellenberger.
Since making his return to the UFC, 36 year-old Soa Palelei (20-3, UFC 1-2) has racked up back-to-back wins, most recently stopping Pat Barry in the first-round with punches from mount. Prior to that, Palelei had a third-round TKO over Russian Nikita Krylov in a bout that both fighters looked lacklustre.
Palelei’s opponent will be South African fighter Ruan Potts who comes into the UFC as the current EFC Africa heavyweight champion. Potts brings an 8-1 record, with his lone loss coming to Andrew van Zyl whom Potts has also defeated on two other occasions.
