A heavyweight bout has been added to the UFC pay-per-view event in May.
At UFC 288 on May 6 in Newark, N.J., Parker Porter (13-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is expected to welcome promotional newcomer Braxton Smith (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), pending bout finalization.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Porter, 37, looks to rebound from back-to-back first-round finish defeats to Jailton Almeida and Justin Tafa. The two-fight skid snapped a three-fight winning streak that included victories over Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman, and Alan Baudot.
Smith, 33, is the Peak Fighting heavyweight champion. He has won five fights in a row all by first-round TKO or knockout. His only career loss was in 2014 against current UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo
- Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Jessica Andrade vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Rolando Bedoya vs. Khaos Williams
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Johnny Munoz vs. Daniel Santos
- Virna Jandiroba vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Armen Petrosyan vs. TBA
- Devin Clark vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Kron Gracie vs. Charles Jourdain
- Rafael Estevam vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
- Drew Dober vs. Matt Frevola
- Joseph Holmes vs. Claudio Ribeiro
- Ikram Aliskerov vs. Phil Hawes
- Parker Porter vs. Braxton Smith
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 288.
Parker Porter expected to welcome newcomer ‘The Beautiful Monster’ Braxton Smith at UFC 288
