Fresh off of a submission win over Michael Chiesa at UFC on Fox 8, Jorge Masvidal already has his next opponent lined up.
As reported by Ariel Helwani on Tuesday’s edition of Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight, Masvidal will meet Rustam Khabilov on a Fox Sports 1 fight card that has not yet been announced. With UFC Fight for the Troops 3 and UFC 167 already scheduled for the first two weeks of November, it would appear likely Masvidal and Khabilov will meet on Nov. 20 or 27.
The 28-year-old Masvidal has already picked up two wins since joining the UFC roster. With an impressive win over Khabilov that would make him 3-0 in 2013, the former Strikeforce lightweight title challenger would seemingly be due a fight with a borderline 155-pound title contender.
Though Khabilov has also only won twice inside the Octagon, he gained plenty of attention by knocking out Vinc Pichel with a suplex in his original UFC showing. If he can pick up a victory over a more notable opponent in Masvidal, Khabilov would be well on his way toward validating the hype he has generated.
Masvidal is a big step up in competition for Khabilov, who faced mostly unknown competition in his 17 career MMA bouts. Still, Khabilov’s grappling could cause problems for Masvidal, who has been submitted twice in his seven losses.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more on this unnamed Fox Sports 1 fight card, as the event is likely to take shape quickly now that its first matchup has been booked.
Sean Smith is a Featured MMA Columnist for Bleacher Report who has also had work promoted on UFC.com and TheMMACorner.com.
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