Following his first-round submission victory over Marcus LeVesseur at UFC on Fuel 3, guillotine expert Cody McKenzie is eying a move to the featherweight division.
Given that McKenzie has been struggling at lightweight and walks around at only about 150 pounds, the jump down in weight is not surprising.
What is surprising is who McKenzie will be facing in his first UFC fight at 145 pounds.
According to MMAweekly.com, the 24-year-old from Alaska will debut against a consensus top-three featherweight, former title-challenger Chad Mendes.
The fight, which has not yet been officially booked but has been verbally agreed to, is set to take place at UFC 148 on July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
McKenzie has an overall record of 12-2 and is 2-2 in the UFC. Mendes is 11-1 and 2-1 in the UFC. He was undefeated before losing to current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142. Now he’ll look to once again climb the ladder with a victory over McKenzie.
Though this bout will undoubtedly be the biggest test of McKenzie’s career, the rewards are huge if he pulls off the win—beating Mendes would likely leave him no more than two wins away from a title shot.
The main event at UFC 148 will be the highly anticipated rematch between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a stand-up comedian. Check him out on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com