Newly signed UFC middleweight Chidi Njokuani is set to take on Marc-Andre Barriault at the UFC’s February 5, 2022 Fight Night event.
News of the booking was first reported on the September 28 broadcast of Dana White’s Contender Series. The only thing lacking was the date, which was subsequently reported by French-language outlet Le Droit.
Barriault (13-4, 1NC) got off to a rough start in the UFC. Losing his first three fights, he finally appeared to have claimed a win over Oskar Piechota in June 2020. That win, at UFC Vegas 3, was later overturned to a No Contest after a positive drug test for ostarine, a common contaminant in athletic supplements.
However, since then, the “Power Bar” has won two straight, against Abu Azaitar and Dalcha Lungiambula. Barriault was previously a double champ, at middleweight and light heavyweight, in Canadian promotion TKO.
Njokuani (20-7) is a Bellator MMA veteran who impressed at a recent appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. Njokuani has won two straight, and has previously shared the cage with Bellator standouts Andrey Koreshkov, John Salter, and Rafael Cavalcante.
No other bouts have been reported for the UFC’s February 5, 2022 card to date. No broadcast plan, location, or details have been reported either. Le Droit recently quoted UFC Vice President, International and Content David Shaw, who stated the promotion would like to get back to their regular three shows in Canada next year, including a PPV and two Fight Night cards. Any such return will likely be predicated on Canadian provinces dropping pandemic restrictions, as UFC President Dana White has stated that the promotion will not run shows in venues with only partial capacity.
