A pivotal clash between top 135-pound contenders Marlon Moraes and Petr Yan will reportedly headline the UFC’s first-ever trip to Kazakhstan.
MMAjunkie.com was first to bring word of the matchup. Both Moraes and Yan have verbally agreed to the bout, but contracts have not yet been signed.
UFC Kazakhstan is expected to take place on June 13 at Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Neither the event nor Moraes vs. Yan has not been formally announced by the promotion.
Moraes is coming off a contentious split-decision triumph over former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 245. Prior to that, the ex-WSOF titlist was stopped in the third round by Henry Cejudo in a clash for the vacant bantamweight championship at UFC 238. “Magic” is 5-2 in UFC competition with other notable wins over Raphael Assuncao, Jimmie Rivera, Aljamain Sterling and John Dodson.
Yan, meanwhile, is unbeaten six Octagon appearances and has won 14 of his 15 professional fights overall. The 27-year-old Russian is coming off a third-round KO victory against Urijah Faber at UFC 245. He also owns notable triumphs over Rivera and Dodson within the Las Vegas-based promotion.