A new bantamweight bout has joined the lineup for the UFC’s May 14 card.
Davey Grant (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) is set to take on Louis Smolka (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) at the Fight Night event. Promotion officials announced the new booking Thursday. Although the event doesn’t have an announced location or venue, it’s likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
Grant will be looking to snap a two-fight skid when he steps in the cage. After a three-fight winning streak that included back-to-back $50,000 bonuses for knockouts of Martin Day and Jonathan Martinez, Grant ran into a pair of bumps in the road.
The 36-year-old Brit dropped a unanimous decision to Marlon Vera in June 2021. Then this past November, he lost a split call to Adrian Yanez for his first skid in three years.
Smolka needs to rebound, as well. In December, he was knocked out by Vince Morales in the first round. That continued his up-and-down run that has seen him alternate wins and losses for six straight fights. Smolka, from Hawaii, returned to the UFC in 2018 on a three-fight winning streak and submitted Mudaerji Su in the second round. All three of his wins since coming back to the UFC have been by stoppage – but all three of his losses since his return have been first-round finishes.
With the addition, the UFC’s May 14 lineup now includes:
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Ryan Spann
- Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee
- Frank Camacho vs. Manuel Torres
- Jamall Emmers vs. Daniel Pineda
- Angela Hill vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Nick Maximov vs. Andre Petroski
- Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
- Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka