UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is moving to pay-per-view, where his next title defense will be against Dagestani striker and combat sambo champion Ali Bagautinov. Sportsnet was the first to report the story, however, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani was able to confirm the news.
Bagautinov, 28, is 13-2 in his MMA career and undefeated in his current UFC run of three fights. He most recently competed at UFC 169 in February where he defeated John Lineker by unnanimous decision. He also holds UFC wins over Tim Elliott and Marcus Vinicius.
Johnson, 27, is 19-2-1 in MMA, but undefeated since moving to flyweight in March of 2012, where he’s earned five wins and one draw. He most recently competed at UFC on Fox 9 in December 2013 where he stopped Joseph Benavidez via KO in the first round. He holds flyweight wins over John Dodson, John Moraga and Ian McCall.
UFC 174 is set to take place on Saturday, June 14 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event marks the first flyweight fight to headline a UFC pay-per-view event.