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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Two new interesting fights have been added to the UFC 170 card in Las Vegas this February.
The biggest of the two new matchups is a bantamweight fight between Raphael Assuncao and Francisco Rivera. In welterweight action, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson will take on "The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes" winner Robert Whittaker.
Assuncao wants to move into the title picture at 135 lbs. off the strength of five consecutive wins. A sixth could put him in there, though he's likely going to remain behind Urijah Faber following Faber's submission win over Michael McDonald last weekend.
He'll have a tough test to get past anyway in Rivera, a fellow WEC vet who himself is unbeaten in six straight fights. It would be a six fight winning streak were it not for a failed drug test for marijuana turning one KO win into a no contest. In his two wins this year, he picked up TKO victories over Edwin Figueroa and George Roop.
"Wonderboy" gets back into action after a knockout win over Chris Clements in his last outing. That was his second straight after suffering the first and only loss of his career in 2012, a decision loss to Matt Brown.
He'll take on Whittaker, who hopes to bounce back from a split decision to Court McGee in August at UFC Fight Night 27. That was just his third career loss, and his first in three UFC fights.
UFC 170 takes place on February 22 from Las Vegas, headlined by the non-title five round light heavyweight fight between Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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