Australian lightweight standout Damien Brown has signed with the UFC and will step up for a short notice opportunity at UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane.
Brown (15-8 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will square off with Brazilian Alan Patrick (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at the event, which takes place on March 20 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Queensland. News of the announcement was revealed via The Courier Mail.
Patrick was originally expected to face Chad Laprise in Brisbane, however Ross Pearson’s opponent, Abel Trujillo, was forced off the card after encountering visa issues and Laprise was slotted in as a replacement to face the Brit.
I’ve been speechless for 24 hours…I got wind of it and felt sick in the stomach, then got confirmation and felt emotionally overwhelmed, now I just feel like it was meant to be. Brown told Fight News Australia about receiving the news.
Brown will ride a five-fight win streak into his UFC debut with four of those victories coming by stoppage. The 31 year-old Integrated MMA product, who took out the Fight News Australia Domestic Male Fighter of 2015 award, most recently fought at XFC 26 where he knocked out New Zealand’s Pumau Campbell.
Patrick is a former Bitetti Combat champion who debuted for the UFC back in 2013 with a first round TKO victory over Garett Whiteley. After outpointing John Makdessi four months later, the 32 year-old suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Mairbek Taisumov at UFC Fight Night 69 in Germany.
UFC Fight Night 85 will be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Mark Hunt and Frank Mir. The co-main event will see Hector Lombard square off with Neil Magny. Check out the updated lineup for the show here.
Main Card:
- Mark Hunt vs Frank Mir
- Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny
- Jake Matthews vs Johnny Case
- Daniel Kelly vs Antonio Carlos Junior
- James Te Huna vs Steve Bosse
- Bec Rawlings vs Seohee Ham
Preliminary Card:
- Brendan O’Reilly vs Alan Jouban
- Richie Walsh vs Viscardi Andrade
- Alan Patrick vs Damien Brown
UFC Fight Pass:
- Ross Pearson vs Chad Laprise
- Leslie Smith vs Rin Nakai
- Daniel Hooker vs Mark Eddiva
