A middleweight bout has been added to the CES MMA 38 main card on Friday night in Connecticut as Mike Rodriguez will meet John Poppie.
The fight booking was announced by CES MMA officials on Wednesday.
CES MMA 38 will come from the Foxwoods Casino and Resort in Connecticut and will be headlined by a matchup between UFC vets as Levan Makashvili meets Sean Soriano.
Rodriguez (4-1) has won back to back fights and is coming off a stoppage win against Stephfond Ewins last month at CES MMA 37. All of his professional wins have come by stoppage and three of them have come by TKO/KO.
“This is definitely my toughest fight yet. My opponent is really experienced, skillful, durable and well-rounded,” said Rodriguez. “But I see myself finishing him in the second round.”
Poppie (7-3) is coming off a submission defeat in April at RFA 37 against Joe Gigliotti and he is 1-2 in his last three fights. Five of his seven wins have come by stoppage and three of those victories are by submission.
“He’s tall and has some good knockout power. He trains at a good gym (Lauzon’s MMA), so he’s going to be prepared,” said Poppie. “I’m going to beat him up, take him down and choke him out.”
The current CES MMA 38: Makashvili vs. Soriano fight card is below.
Main Card: (AXS TV – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Levan Makashvili (11-2-1) vs. Sean Soriano (9-4)
Calvin Kattar (15-2) vs. Chris Foster (9-4)
Pat Walsh (8-2) vs. Carlos Zevallos (3-3)
Rico DiSciullo (6-0, 1NC) vs. David Garcia (2-2-1)
Kody Nordby (6-4) vs. Branden Seyler (6-3-1)
Mike Rodriguez (4-1) vs. John Poppie (7-3)
Preliminary Card: (Unaired)
Pete Rogers Jr. (2-3) vs. Derek Shorey (3-7)
Matt Maldonado (0-0) vs. Kris Moutinho (0-0)
Quinten Gaskins (1-3) vs. Richie Santiago (0-0)
Connor Barry (1-0) vs. Wayne Ahlqhuist (1-3)