A middleweight banger has been lined up for the UFC’s September 17 Fight Night event.
Gregory Rodrigues (12-4) is set to face Chidi Njokuani (22-7, 1NC) as part of the show, which does not yet have a venue or location set. MMA Fighting was first to report news of the booking, which was later confirmed by both athletes on social media.
Rodrigues returned to the win column just last week, when he knocked out Julian Marquez at UFC Austin. A Performance of the Night bonus ensued, marking the second post-fight bonus “Robocop” has claimed through four fights with the promotion.
The Brazilian, now residing in Florida, entered the UFC after winning the LFA middleweight title last May, in a fight with fellow current UFC fighter Josh Fremd. He then picked up back-to-back wins against Dusko Todorovic and Jun Yong Park.
Njokuani, a Bellator MMA veteran, picked up a win on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, then made his debut on the big stage in February. He’s 2-0 in 2022, with wins over Marc-Andre Barriault and a common foe shared with Rodrigues in Todorovic.
Both of Njokuani’s victories this year have come inside of a round. Both have captured him Performance of the Night bonuses. He’s won four straight overall, all by KO/TKO.
The UFC’s September 17, 2022 event is expected to be headlined by bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong.
