Edmonton’s Clarke added to UFC 215 fight card

The UFC’s debut in Edmonton just added a little local flavour … and a former lightweight champion.

With tickets set to go on sale this week for the Sept. 9 UFC 215 card, the promotion revealed two new matchups on Wednesday.

Most intriguing is a welterweight bout between Neil Magny and former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. It’s a fight that could have major implications for the 170-pound division.

The other matchup: Edmonton’s Mitch Clarke will return to the Octagon to fight American Alex White.

After losing the UFC’s 155-pound title to Eddie Alvarez during International Fight Week last year, and then dropping a close followup to Tony Ferguson, dos Anjos moved up to welterweight and looked impressive in his debut, outlasting Tarec Saffiedine to earn a unanimous decision in June.

For his part, Magny’s name was very much in discussion for a title shot after he rattled off three straight wins before losing to Lorenz Larkin last summer. He bounced back in impressive fashion by beating Johny Hendricks at UFC 207 last December.

Magny is ranked No. 6 in the division, while dos Anjos sits at No. 10. However, a win for either could launch them back into the top-five and see them fighting for a title shot in their next match.

Meanwhile, Clarke will get a chance to fight in front of an adoring hometown crowd. The Edmontonian has been out of action since losing to Joe Duffy last July, but has put together a string of wins that includes victories over Al Iaquinta and John Maguire.

In White, Clarke will be taking on a guy who has gone 2-3 in the UFC but made major headlines when he beat Artem Lobov — Conor McGregor’s training partner — last year.

These two fights are being added to a deep card featuring a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg, a women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko, as well as a blockbuster heavyweight matchup between Francis Ngannou and former champion Junior dos Santos.