A loaded card just continues to get even more stacked. UFC President Dana White today confirmed that top lightweight contenders Michael Johnson (17-10 MMA, 9-6 UFC) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (23-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will also meet on the card.
White today revealed the fight is official during a pre-fight press conference in New York to promote the upcoming event. Earlier today, White appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and revealed the promotion was working on the contest. According to the UFC boss, it’s now set.
Nurmagomedov is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, while Johnson checks in at No. 12.
Featuring a trio of title fights, UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
“The Menace” Johnson recently snapped a two-fight losing streak with an impressive first-round knockout of Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 94. Prior to his skid, Johnson had downed four consecutive victories after downing Edson Barboza, Melvin Guillard, Gleison Tibau and Joe Lauzon.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov boasts an incredible career record but has been slowed by injuries in recent years, notching just one win – against late replacement Darrell Horcher – in the past 28 months. However, one more win would certainly secure his spot in a long-awaited title fight.
While the night’s official bout order has yet to be revealed, UFC 205 now includes:
Champ Eddie Alvarez vs. Champ Conor McGregor – for lightweight title
Champ Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – for welterweight title
Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz – for strawweight title
Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman
Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Michael Johnson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha Tate
Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller
Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
For more on UFC 205. News Source: MMA Junkie