A welterweight bout between a couple of sluggers looking to get back into the win column has been added to July’s UFC Fight Night 45 event. Rick Story (16-8, 8-6 UFC) and John Howard (22-9, 6-4 UFC) have verbally agreed to fight on the card, which will be headlined by a lightweight bout between contenders Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller. The UFC announced the bout on Sunday morning.
Story is coming off a close decision loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 171 in March. It was a back-and-forth fight but Gastelum ended up getting the split decision and Story found himself back in the loss column. Story had success inside the Octagon between the years of 2009 and 2011, notching six straight wins including scoring a decision win over current UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks. However, Story has gone just 3-5 over his last eight fights and is finding himself sliding down the rankings.
Howard looks to get back on track after having his four-fight win streak stopped by Ryan LaFlare at UFC Fight Night 39 last month. Howard won his first two fights in his second UFC stint, scoring wins over Uriah Hall and Siyar Bahadurzada. Howard has won six of his ten UFC fights overall and is looking to stay on the roster as he has been cut once before.
UFC Fight Night 45 takes place on July 15 from the Revel Casino & Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event will air on FOX Sports 1 with prelims also airing on FOX Sports 1 as well as UFC Fight Pass.
