A week after fellow Quebec native Charles Jourdain returns to the octagon, Marc-Andre Barriault is set to do the same. Per a report by Le Journdal de Montreal, the “PowerBar” is set to take on Oskar Piechota on June 20.
The pair were originally booked for UFC Saskatoon on the same date. However, the coronavirus pandemic and associated mass gathering bans have put that card on ice. Instead, the UFC’s June 20 event is likely to unfold at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The UFC’s return to the state is dependent on a May 27 meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. If all goes well, however, they should be able to hold events in-house at their own facility for the foreseeable future.
Quebec’s Barriault (11-4) is in dire straights heading into this one. He’s 0-3 in his UFC run so far, generally a death knell in the promotion. Given a chance to make the walk to the octagon for the fourth time here, a win is absolutely necessary for Barriault, who held middleweight and light heavyweight gold in TKO.
He has, however, fought exclusively at middleweight since joining the UFC.
Looking to end the Canadian’s time in the octagon will be Oskar Piechota (11–3–1). He’s on an 0-3 run of his own, but is 2-3 inside the octagon overall. Coincidentally, Piechota will be the second Polish middleweight Barriault has faced in the UFC, having previously competed against Krzysztof Jotko.
Interestingly enough, Barriault has been calling out Eryk Anders lately — but he’ll need to focus on Piechota if that fight is ever to happen.
