A bout between top-five lightweight contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Edson Barboza has been added to UFC 219, the mixed martial arts promotion announced Friday.
Nurmagomedov is 24-0 in MMA and 8-0 in the UFC. He hasn’t competed since a dominant submission victory over Michael Johnson at UFC 205 back in November 2016. Nurmagomedov, the No. 2-ranked lightweight in the UFC, was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson for an interim 155-pound title at UFC 209 in March but was forced to withdraw one day prior to the event after being hospitalized due to a poor weight cut.
Barboza (19-4) is coming off a brilliant flying-knee knockout victory over Beneil Dariush in March. The No. 3-ranked contender also has wins over former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez on his current three-fight winning streak.
The UFC’s lightweight division is in a complicated state at the moment. Conor McGregor is the champion but hasn’t defended his belt since taking it from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. It’s unclear when the Irish superstar will return to the Octagon, but UFC president Dana White has said McGregor will face Ferguson for the unified title instead of booking a trilogy match with Nate Diaz. Ferguson, the last man to beat Barboza, submitted Kevin Lee to win the interim title at UFC 216 earlier this month.
The winner of Nurmagomedov-Barboza, especially if it’s Nurmagomedov, could earn a shot at Ferguson’s interim belt. Or, if the UFC manages to book McGregor-Ferguson, Nurmagomedov could end up facing the winner of that bout.
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