Heavyweights Travis Browne and Derrick Lewis will meet at UFC 208 in February in a key contest for the division.
Browne has put himself up against the best of the best, while Lewis is ascending his way up the ladder.
When Lewis recently earned another victory, he called out Browne for a future date. That bothered Browne, as he explained to ESPN.
“He’s looking up and down the top 10 for the easiest fight and choosing my name,” Browne said. “I don’t know how much more personal it gets than that. I’m not usually one to talk trash, and I do respect him as a fighter, but you want to test yourself, buddy? I’m your man. I’ll show you what this (expletive) is all about up here.”
Browne, 34 years old, has dropped three of his last four and is just 2-4 over his last six. All four defeats, though, have come at the hands of former UFC heavyweight champions in Cain Velasquez, Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum (twice). He started out his run 16-1-1 overall, including wins vs. Josh Barnett and Alistair Overeem.
For Lewis, this is a chance to cement his place as a top contender. He has won five in a row, including four finishes, to improve his record to 17-4. However, the only notable name during that stretch that Lewis faced was Roy Nelson.
UFC 208 takes place February 11 from Brooklyn and the Barclays Center.