UFC president Dana White didn’t officially announce it, but the rumored lightweight scrap between Gilbert Melendez (pictured) and Khabib Nurmagomedov will in fact go down at UFC 170.
How do we know? Because it was plastered across the official event poster White left behind following UFC 168 on Saturday. White used the picture to report bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was now headlining the February 22nd show against Sara McMann, bumping the light heavyweight shootout with Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier to the co-main event.
The card takes place inside Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Melendez is coming off his instant classic decision win over Diego Sanchez. The former Strikeforce champ collected his first UFC victory in what many believe was 2013’s fight of the year.
Nurmagomedov owns a perfect 21-0 professional record, with his past five tangos coming inside the Octagon. The 25-year-old was last seen in September posting a unanimous decision over Pat Healy.
The 155-pound affair takes the card’s third-to-top billing.
Here is the event’s updated agenda:
Francisco Rivera vs. Raphael Assuncao
Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker
Mike Pyle vs. TJ Waldburger
Thiago Silva vs. Ovince St. Preux
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rustam Khabilov
Demian Maia vs. Rory MacDonald
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Gilbert Melendez
Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Cormier
Sara McMann vs. Ronda Rousey (UFC bantamweight champion)
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