Former lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard will make his featherweight debut in July at The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale as he will meet Fernando Bruno.
The fight booking was announced by the UFC on Thursday evening.
The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale will take place on July 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by a title fight as Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends the women’s strawweight title against Claudia Gadelha.
Maynard (11-5-1, 1NC) has lost four in a row and is 1-5-1 in his last seven fights. This will be his first fight since April of last year as he lost a decision against Alexander Yakovlev. Bruno (15-3) lost his UFC debut last year in The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 lightweight final against Glaico Franca. The defeat snapped a four fight winning streak and all eight of his stoppage victories have come by submission.
The current fight card for The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale is below.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0) vs. Claudia Gadelha (13-1)
TBA vs. TBA – TUF 23 light heavyweight tournament final
TBA vs. TBA – TUF 23 women’s strawweight tournament final
James Krause (23-7) vs. Ross Pearson (19-10, 1NC)
Cezar Ferreira (9-5) vs. Anthony Smith (25-11)
Li Jingliang (10-4) vs. Anton Zafir (7-2)
Jake Matthews (10-1) vs. Steven Ray (19-5)
Doo Ho Choi (13-1) vs. Thiago Tavares (20-6-1)
Gray Maynard (11-5-1, 1NC) vs. Fernando Bruno (15-3)