John Howard to fight Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night 26

News

Fans clamoring to seeing the big grudge match between “The Ultimate Fighter” season 17 competitors will have to wait as ‘Doomsday’ returns to the UFC.

John Howard (20-8, 4-3 UFC) will make his UFC return at UFC Fight Night 26 on Aug. 17 to take on Uriah Hall (7-3, 0-1 UFC). Howard will actually be the third different opponent for Hall. Howard replaces Hall’s fellow competitor on “TUF 17”, Josh Samman, who pulled out due to an injury. Samman was a replacement for Nick Ring, who was forced out due to the issue the company had with social security numbers needed for fighters to compete on the card.

The Boston Herald reported the news on Wednesday, which was then confirmed by UFC officials.

Howard fought seven times in the UFC, racking up a four-fight win streak to start his UFC career. However, three subsequent losses to Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves and Matt Brown prompted Howard’s release from the UFC. He moved up from the welterweight division to the middleweight division following his released, and he has gone 6-1 since to earn a return trip to the Octagon at 185 pounds.

Hall, the favorite to win “TUF 17”, lost in the finals to Kelvin Gastelum in April, and he will be looking for his first official UFC win when he returns to action. The bout will be featured on the main card, which will be televised on FOX Sports 1.

UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen takes place from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Ten fights will air on FOX Sports 1, which launches the day of the event, while three bouts will air on Facebook.

Here is a look at the current card for UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen:

  • Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
  • Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne
  • Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara
  • Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle
  • Uriah Hall vs. John Howard
  • Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
  • Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald
  • Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
  • Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler
  • Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda
  • Manny Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
  • Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
  • Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick
Ryan Frederick has been a diehard mixed martial arts fan since he saw UFC 1 at the age of 7. Since then he has yet to miss a show. He also has loves for football, baseball and fine whiskey. He fell in love with covering MMA after having also covered baseball and football, both professional and college, while working towards a journalism degree at Texas Christian University. His work has been seen on FOXSports.com, InsideFights.com, WrestlingObserver.com, Bleacher Report and ToughTalkMMA.com.