A pivotal flyweight showdown between Joseph
Benavidez and Askar
Askarov is in the works for an Ultimate Fighting Championship
event on March 6.
MMA journalist Igor Lazorin first brought word of the
matchup. The event has not been formally announced by the
promotion, but multiple outlets are reporting that it will be UFC
259. The card is also expected to include a light heavweight tilt
pitting Thiago
Santos against Aleksandar
Rakic.
A four-time flyweight title challenger, Benavidez is coming off the
first two-bout skid of his professional career after being finished
in back-to-back championship fights by Deiveson
Figueiredo in 2020. The 36-year-old WEC veteran is nonetheless
one of the sport’s top talents at 125 pounds, with a 28-7 career
mark and wins over the likes of Henry
Cejudo, Jussier
Formiga, Dustin
Ortiz, Alex Perez,
John
Moraga and Ian McCall, to
name a few.
Askarov, meanwhile, is unbeaten in 13 professional outings, with
his lone blemish coming via split draw against current No. 1
contender Brandon
Moreno at UFC Fight Night 159. Since that bout, Askarov has
posted decision triumphs over Tim Elliott
and Alexandre
Pantoja in his last two Octagon appearances.