A lightweight battle is the first fight set for the UFC 170 card.
According to sources close to the situation, Rafael dos Anjos and Rustam Khabilov verbally agreed to face off on Feb. 22 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMA Boxing first reported the news.
Khabilov (17-1) was last seen inside the Octagon in a three-round battle with Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight for the Troops 3, which earned the Russian lightweight his third win under the UFC banner and sixth straight victory since suffering the only loss in six years as a professional MMA fighter.
dos Anjos (20-6) enters the cage riding a five-fight win streak in the UFC, the last one a decision victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 27. Undefeated since November 2011, the jiu-jitsu black belt holds victories over Kamal Shalorus, Anthony Njokuani, Mark Bocek, Evan Dunham and Cerrone in his last five bouts.
The UFC initially announced a light-heavyweight clash between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira as the headliner of the card, but the fight was later moved to a future date still to be announced.