A very interesting lightweight matchup is being targeted for UFC 249 in April.
MMA Junkie reports that the UFC is looking to book Islam Makhachev against Alexander Hernandez for the pay-per-view (PPV) card. Makhachev is currently the No. 14-ranked lightweight in the UFC, while Hernandez sits at No. 15. Makhachev finds himself on a six-fight win streak since suffering his first and only loss in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition back in 2015.
Makhachev comes off of a unanimous decision win over Davi Ramos at UFC 242 in September. As for Hernandez, he got back in the win column against Francisco Trinaldo in July, who he also defeated by way of a unanimous decision. Prior to that, Hernandez suffered the first loss of his UFC run against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The matchup between Makhachev and Hernandez provides fans with a very interesting stylistic matchup, as both 155 pounders are very well rounded.
They’ll join a card headlined by an epic title clash in their own division, as defending lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov meets Tony Ferguson. Nurmagomedov and Makhachev are American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) training partners and both hail from Dagestan. Both Nurmagomedov and Makhachev utilize a sambo style of fighting that has served them well throughout their respective careers. It will be interesting to see if that holds true next month.
UFC 249 goes down live on PPV from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on April 18, 2020.
