Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Two Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweights
eyeing a spot in the top-10 will come to blows in October. The promotion will be booking Diego
Ferreira (17-4) against Grant
Dawson (17-1) on its
UFC Fight Night event on Oct. 2, as first reported by
MMA Junkie on Thursday. The news of this booking was hinted at and then
confirmed
shortly after its announcement by Dawson on his Instagram. The two
will be meeting at a card that will likely take place in the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas.
Ferreira finds himself on a rare losing streak, having dropped a
close decision in a rematch with Beneil
Dariush in February and then suffering a knockout loss to
Gregor
Gillespie in May. The Brazilian out of Texas came into his
high-stakes pairing with Dariush on a six-fight win streak that saw
him beat the likes of Anthony
Pettis, Rustam
Khabilov and Olivier
Aubin-Mercier along the way.
Dawson came into the promotion as a featherweight, winning a spot
on the roster from the first season of Dana White’s Contender Series by tapping
Adrian
Diaz. A pair of fights around 150 pounds – one against Darrick
Minner due to Dawson missing weight badly and another a
predetermined catchweight with Nad
Narimani – led to Dawson’s return to 155 pounds, where he began
his career. Since a knockout setback to Hugh Pulley
in 2016, the Glory MMA & Fitness product has not lost, and a
literal last-second knockout of Leonardo
Santos in March elevated him to this matchup.
On Oct. 2, the UFC will hold a Fight Night card likely inside of
the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and this event three months away already
has a headliner. Atop the billing, former title challenger Thiago
Santos will look to snap the longest losing streak of his
career against the mercurial Johnny
Walker at light heavyweight. Another noteworthy match that
night is the supposed retirement fight for Bethe
Correia, who takes on fellow countrywoman Karol Rosa
at bantamweight.