Two top light heavyweights will reportedly clash at the upcoming UFC on Fox 6 card in Chicago, Illinois next month as Ryan Bader takes on Vladimir Matyushenko.
ESPN confirmed the bout with inside sources today, citing that they would join the January card.
This match will be Bader‘s 11th fight with the UFC, not counting three exhibition appearances during Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Bader walks into this bout coming off a second-round KO loss against former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who shut down “Darth” with a clean counter shot at UFC on Fox 4. Bader is currently 2-3 in his last five fights, with his most recent victory coming against Quinton Jackson at UFC 144 in Japan.
Matyushenko is also trying to get back into the “win” column following a loss against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 141 last December.
“The Janitor” was previously expected to face returning top light heavyweight Matt Hamill last September at UFC 152, but pulled out of the fight due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered during a training accident.
Both fighters will likely be fighting on Fox’s televised broadcast, as Bader has been a main card staple in all but two of his 10 UFC appearances. Matyushenko hasn’t been promoted as heavily by the UFC, but nonetheless has headlined one card (against Jon Jones) in addition to two main card spots.
UFC on Fox 6 will be headlined with a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Jon Dodson. Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis and Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira are also expected for the main card, while Clay Guida drops to featherweight to face Hatsu Hioki on the preliminary set.
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