Rustam Khabilov
Russian lightweight Rustam ‘Tiger’ Khabilov (15-1) is set to welcome Strikeforce veteran Yancy Medeiros (9-0) to the Octagon when the two meet in April at UFC 159. Medeiros will be dropping two weight classes for the bout coming down from 185-lbs for the match.
Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship confirmed the latest addition to UFC 159 on Thursday via Twitter (@UFC).
UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen is expected to take place on April 27, 2013 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The pay-per-view event is headlined by a light heavyweight title match as defending champ Jon Jones faces opposing TUF 17 coach Chael Sonnen.
Khabilov signed with the UFC last summer and finally debuted inside the Octagon last December at the TUF 16 Finale in Las Vegas. ‘Tiger’ would go on to beat opponent Vinc Pichel by knockout after suplexing his opponent in the opening round. That was the fourth straight victory for the Sambo fighter who also appeared in the ONE FC cage in that span in February of last year.
Medeiros is so far undefeated in his pro-career, picking up his last two wins under the Strikeforce banner. The Hawaiian fighter hasn’t been in competition since June 2010 finishing opponent Gareth Joseph by knockout at the Fedor vs. Werdum event. Since then Medeiros has been making the move down to 155-lbs.