11 Fights Signed for UFC Live 4

Once-beaten Brazilian prospect Charles Oliveira will lock horns with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy representative Nik Lentz (Pictured; file photo) in a featured lightweight matchup at UFC Live 4 “Marquardt vs. Johnson” on June 26 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Eleven fights are now official for the event, which will air live on the Versus network.

Oliveira (14-1, 2-1 UFC) finds himself on the rebound for the first time as a professional, having submitted to a first-round kneebar from the world-ranked Jim Miller at UFC 124 in December. The 21-year-old won the 2008 Predator Fight Championship welterweight grand prix in his native Brazil and has secured 13 of his 14 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Jorge Patino, Oliveira was awarded “Submission of the Night” honors in his first two UFC appearances. Six of his last nine fights have ended inside one round.

Unbeaten in his past 14 outings, Lentz (21-3-2, 5-0-1 UFC) last competed at UFC Fight Night 24 in March, when he took out Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Waylon Lowe with a third-round guillotine choke at the KeyArena in Seattle. The 26-year-old El Paso, Texas, native owns notable victories against 2010 Shine Fights lightweight grand prix winner Drew Fickett, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 finalist Andre Winner, Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts standout Tyson Griffin and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 alum Robert Emerson. Five of Lent’s last six bouts have reached the judges.

Meanwhile, WEC import Ricardo Lamas will make his promotional debut in a preliminary featherweight tilt against Matt Grice.

Lamas (9-2) last appeared at WEC 53 in December, when he was victimized in a first-round knockout against Yuri Alcantara at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The defeat snapped his three-fight winning streak. A 28-year-old Chicago native, Lamas was a collegiate All-American wrestler at the Div. III level. Wins over Team Quest’s Dave Jansen and fellow WEC alum Bart Palaszewski anchor his resume.

Grice (13-3, 1-3 UFC) will carry a four-fight winning streak into the bout. The 29-year-old Midwest City, Okla., native last competed under the Freestyle Cagefighting banner in April, when he posted a unanimous decision victory over Dream veteran David Gardner at the FireLake Grand Casino in Shawnee, Okla. Grice has not fought in the UFC in nearly two years. He was a four-time state wrestling champion in high school.

A matchup pairing former middleweight King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt with Anthony Johnson will headline UFC Live 4. It will serve as Marquardt’s debut at 170 pounds.

UFC Live 4 “Marquardt vs. Johnson”
Sunday, June 26
Consol Energy Center
Pittsburgh

Nate Marquardt vs. Anthony Johnson
Cheick Kongo vs. Patrick Barry
Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft
Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan
Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
* Charlie Brenneman vs. T.J. Grant

* Not Official