Lightweights Justin Gaethje and Al Iaquinta are headed to Nebraska on August 25.
An intriguing lightweight pairing has now officially been added to the UFC’s return to Nebraska. As the promotion’s own Twitter account announced, Justin Gaethje will be taking Al Iaquinta at UFC Fight Night 135, despite UFC president Dana White initially saying it wasn‘t going to happen, as well as Iaquinta himself calling the original report “fake news.”
A war is headed to Nebraska.@Justin_Gaethje prepares for another potential FOTY vs @AlIaquinta. #UFCLincoln pic.twitter.com/43Qxsmcdmp
— UFC (@ufc) June 14, 2018
Justin Gaethje (18-2) comes into the fight looking to snap a two-fight losing skid with TKO losses to both Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier. The 29-year-old former WSOF champion hasn’t won since a second-round TKO over Michael Johnson back in his UFC debut in July 2017.
Al Iaquinta (13-4-1) will also try to bounce back from a loss. ‘Raging Al’ dropped a unanimous decision to current lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, after taking the fight on a day’s notice at UFC 223 in April. Before that, the 31-year-old was on a five-fight winning streak, with wins over the likes of Rodrigo Damm, Ross Pearson, Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal, and Diego Sanchez.
UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Iaquinta is set for August 25th in Lincoln. The bout will air live on FS1 as the night’s main event. Also confirmed for the card are middleweights Eryk Anders and Tim Williams, bantamweights Luke Sanders and Rani Yahya, lightweights Drew Dober and Jon Tuck, and middleweights Andrew Sanchez and Antonio Braga Neto.