A potential No. 1 contender fight is looming in the UFC light heavyweight division.
[autotag]Corey Anderson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] will square off Feb. 15, if all goes according to plan. The fight will headline the Rio Rancho, N.M. event, which is expected to air on ESPN/stream on ESPN+.
A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the targeted pairing to MMA Junkie following a report by ESPN on Monday. The person asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
The targeted bout between the two light heavyweights will be a rematch of their UFC 191 fight from Sept. 2015. In the first meeting, Anderson earned an unanimous decision nod.
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Both Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) and Blachowicz (25-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) are fresh off signature wins over notable opponents.
At UFC 244, Anderson derailed surging high-flyer Johnny Walker when he defeated the Brazilian by first-round TKO. With the victory, Anderson extended his winning streak to four – a list which already included Ilir Latifi, Patrick Cummins, and former UFC title challenger Glover Teixeira.
As for Blachowicz, the Polish fighter has won back-to-back fights. After knocking out Luke Rockhold at UFC 239 in July, Blachowicz spoiled Ronaldo Souza’s light heavyweight debut by split decision last month at UFC on ESPN+ 22.
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With the addition, the up-to-date UFC Rio Rancho lineup now includes:
- Corey Anderson vs. Jan Blachowicz
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Mara Romero Borella
- Rogerio Bontorin vs. Ray Borg