A lightweight clash between Islam
Makhachev and Thiago
Moises will serve as the new main event for UFC on ESPN 26.
The matchup is a replacement for a previously scheduled
featherweight showdown pitting Max
Holloway against Yair
Rodriguez, which was postponed to an as yet to be announced
date after Holloway suffered an injury.
MMAjunkie.com was first to confirm Makhachev vs. Moises as the
new five-round headliner.
UFC on ESPN 26 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on July 17
and also includes Miesha
Tate’s return from retirement, as she squares off against
Marion
Reneau at bantamweight.
A teammate of former lightweight champion Khabib
Nurmagomedov, Makhachev is currently on a seven-bout winning
streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Most recently, the
29-year-old Dagestani submitted Drew Dober
with an arm triangle in the third round of their UFC 259 clash on
March 6.
Moises, meanwhile, is on a three-bout winning streak in the
Octagon. After submitting Michael
Johnson, the 26-year-old American Top Team representative has
earned consecutive decision triumphs over Bobby Green
and Alexander
Hernandez.