This time around, it will be Houston’s own Daniel “The Pit” Pineda (17-8) stepping up for the UFC once again as he will be taking the place of injured George Roop against Brazilian Antonio Carvalho (13-5) in a featherweight bout planned for UFC 149 less than a month from today – July 21st in Alberta, Canada.
Training out of Houston’s 4OZ Fight Cub, Daniel Pineda went 2-0 in the octagon with 2 submission wins over Pat Schilling and Mackens Sermezier after debuting in January of this past year. A former two-division champion for the Texas-based Legacy promotion, Daniel last fought exactly one month from today against former WEC champ Mike Brown, losing by decision after three rounds of action. He’ll now look to put the memory of that defeat (his first in two years and 7 bouts) behind him when he takes on his Toronto-based opponent.
An 18-fight veteran, Carvalho made his own octagon debut this past January – losing to fellow Brazilian Felipe Arantes by decision in his first octagon appearance. Prior to that, he won three in a row in regional competition to earn his way into the UFC. Carvalho is also a veteran of the Japanese MMA Scene and holds notable wins over Rumina Sato, Hatsu Hioki, and Takeshi Inoue in the Shooto organization.
The pair now join the UFC 149 card headlined by former WEC champ and TUF coach Urijah Faber taking on top prospect Renan Barao. Several other bouts planned for the event include Hector Lombard taking on Tim Boetch. , Court McGee taking on Nick Ring, and Cheick Kongo taking on Shawn Jordan.