The organization announced Wednesday that Fight Nights Global 87 will be headlined by a light heavyweight title bout between reigning champion Fabio Maldonado and Nikita Krylov. The card will take place in Sao Paulo on May 5 and will also see Diego Brando lock horns with Felipe Froes in the featherweight co-main event, while Elias Silverio will meet Michael Graves in another featured bout.
The 38-year-old Maldonado enters the matchup on a two-fight winning streak. He captured 205-pound gold with a third-round submission of Kurban Omarov at Fight Nights Global 73 on Sept. 4. The former professional boxer went 5-6 during a stint in the UFC from 2010 to 2015.
Since exiting the UFC, Krylov has posted a 3-0 mark, with all of those victories ending inside of two rounds. Most recently, the 26-year-old Ukraine native knocked out former Bellator MMA champion Emanuel Newton with a knee in 43 seconds at Fight Nights Global 77 on Oct. 13. Krylov went 6-3 during his UFC tenure.
FIGHT NIGHTS GL0BAL 87
— FIGHT NIGHTS GLOBAL (@fngmma) March 28, 2018
5:00 p.m.
Sao Paulo. "Corinthians". pic.twitter.com/uWsO1hUNQi