A high-profile fight has been added to Phoenix Fighting Championship end of year event set to take place in Dubai, UAE.
Former UFC superstar Roger “El MATADOR” Huerta (23-9, 12 TKO’s) has joined the Phoenix 4 fight card and will take on the Ultimate Fighter 21 finalist Hayder “HULK” Hassan (6-3, 5 TKO’s).
Phoenix 4 for will take place at the Dubai World Trade Center and will be headlined by a welterweight bout between Mounir Lazzez and Christophe Van Dijck. In the co-main event, Moise Rimbon meets Pavel Doroftei for the Phoenix MMA inaugural light heavyweight championship.
Once regarded as the “Next Big Thing”, Roger Huerta, is one of the most vigorous mixed martial art fighters to have ever stepped in the MMA cage. Earlier in his career, Huerta won his first 6 fights in the UFC and was on the verge of getting a title shot while riding a 16 fight win streak. Yet, after being triggered by back-to-back losses against Maynard and Kenny Florian, the comeback road proved to be hard. In his last 10 fights, Huerta has won only 3, with the latest coming at ONE Champion: Defending Honor almost a year ago.
Originally from Iraq, born and raised in Florida, Hassan competed on the 21st season of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter, representing American Top Team. Hassan made a strong run when he won his first 3 fights and reached the finals. He was then submitted by Kamaru Usman at the TUF 21 Finale, then suffered another lost to Vicente Luque later in 2015. The back-to-back setbacks got him released by the UFC, but with “TUF 25: Redemption,” he was given a shot to get back to the elite levels of MMA. Hassan was the fifth pick overall for Team Garbrandt. He faced Dhiego Lima in the opening round and lost by unanimous decision. In a wildcard fight, he defeated former world title contender Joe Stevenson by knockout in the wildcard bout.
From UFC to Bellator to ONE Championship and now Phoenix Fighting Championship, true MMA fans will always be pleased in a fight announcement that involves an MMA icon like Roger Huerta. This is a perfect fight to end the year. A crazy brawler in Huerta takes on heavy hitter, with big time KO power in the Baghdadi Hayder Hassan.
