A lightweight bout has been added to the upcoming UFC 128 event in March between undefeated Edson Barboza (7-0) and Anthony “The Assassin” Njokuani (13-4).
The news of the bout was first reported by MMAjunkie.com and has since been confirmed by MMAWeekly.com.
Barboza made his UFC debut in his last fight, using leg kicks to earn a TKO win over Mike Lullo at UFC 123 in November. It was the Brazilian’s seventh straight win and his sixth victory by T(KO). He had been scheduled to face Darren Elkins on the UFC 123 card but Elkins was forced to withdraw from the event due to an injury and was replaced by Lullo just a few weeks before the fight.
Njokuani will make his first UFC appearance against Barboza after seven straight in the WEC, putting together a 4-3 record that included three straight “Knockout of the Night” honors. “The Assassin” enters the fight on a win, erasing a two fight losing skid. He earned a TKO victory over Edward Faaloloto at WEC 52 in November, while losing to Maciej Jewtuszko at WEC 50 and Shane Roller at WEC 48 previously.
Not officially announced, UFC 128 is expected to take place on March 19th at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ and will be headlined by a UFC light-heavyweight title bout between champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. “Suga” Rashad Evans.