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. An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
barnburner is being targeted for November. According to ESPN
on Friday, Justin
Gaethje (22-3) has agreed to take on Michael
Chandler (22-6) at 155 pounds on
UFC 268. This event, which is slated for Nov. 6, does not
official have a venue or location. However, the fight card is being
considered for Madison Square Garden in New York. Both men will be
coming off of championship stoppage losses.
Gaethje, who posts a stellar 91 percent career finish rate, is
coming off the first submission loss of his career. The interim
champ looked to unify his strap against Khabib
Nurmagomedov in October 2020, and he fell short, getting put to
sleep by a triangle choke in the second round. The loss snapped a
four-fight knockout streak where “The Highlight” dispatched
James
Vick, Edson
Barboza, Donald
Cerrone and Tony
Ferguson in spectacular fashion.
Chandler, with his own high stoppage rate of 77 percent throughout
his 12-year career, was recently knocked out by Charles
Oliveira for the vacant lightweight crown. The loss ended a
victorious three-fight first-round knockout stretch, which saw
Chandler smash Sidney
Outlaw and Benson
Henderson inside the Bellator MMA cage. His UFC debut went swimmingly,
putting Dan Hooker
away at the midpoint of the first round to earn his crack at
gold.
UFC 268 is expected to go down at Madison Square Garden in New
York, although the venue has not been made official yet. Only one
other bout is currently scheduled for the card, in the form of a
welterweight championship grudge rematch between Kamaru
Usman and Colby
Covington.
