A pair of former No. 1 lightweight contenders have been announced as opponents for the upcoming Fox event in San Jose pitting UFC fighter Nate Diaz (16-8) against Strikeforce’s Josh ‘The Punk’ Thomson (19-5, 1NC) this April.
News of the matchup surfaced this afternoon at CSNBayArea.com and was later confirmed by the UFC via Twitter (@UFC).
UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The two California based fighters will certainly draw in local fans to see the two battle which will certainly appear on the Fox broadcasted main card.
Diaz enters the bout following a loss to UFC lightweight champ Bensen Henderson last December after the two battled for five rounds in the main event of UFC on FOX 5. The loss ended a three fight win streak which saw the Stockton based lightweight earn wins over Jim Miller, Donald Cerrone, and Takanori Gomi.
Thomson also enters the fight after a title bout defeat having lost a split decision to Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez in a grudge match last May in San Jose. ‘The Punk’ is 1-2 in his last three fights having beaten K.J. Noons in March of last year while losing a decision to Tatsuya Kawajiri in December 2010 at the Dynamite!! 2010 event.