Bryan
Battle (12-2) and Nursulton
Ruziboev (36-9) are scheduled to meet in a middleweight contest
at
UFC 319.
Both Battle and Ruziboev confirmed the matchup on social media
following an initial report from Home of Fight. UFC 319 takes place on Aug. 16 at the
United Center in Chicago and is headlined by a middleweight title
clash between Dricus Du
Plessis and Khamzat
Chimaev.
The winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 29,” Battle made his UFC debut
in 2021. “The Butcher” has finished five of his seven UFC wins
while only dropping a decision against Rinat
Fakhretdinov. Currently unbeaten in five outings, Battle is
coming off a split-decision win over Randy
Brown.
Meanwhile, Ruziboev paid his dues on the regional circuit before
making his UFC debut in 2023. After starting with back-to-back
first-round knockout wins, Ruziboev came up short against a big
step up in competition in Joaquin
Buckley. “Black” has since bounced back with wins over Eric
McConico and Dustin
Stoltzfus.