Edson Barboza will face another red-hot up-and-comer in his next walk to the UFC octagon.
Barboza (22-11) is set to take on Ilia Topuria (12-0) in a featherweight fight at a UFC event scheduled for October 29, 2022. Eurosport was first to report the news.
Brazil’s Barboza will enter the fight off back-to-back losses against 145 pound prospects Giga Chikadze and Bryce Mitchell. Prior to that, he’d secured wins against Shane Burgos and Makwan Amirkhani, and is 2-3 overall in the featherweight division since arriving there in May of 2020.
The October 29 date will be just shy of Barboza’s 12-year anniversary with the UFC. He spent his first decade with the organization competing as a lightweight, flirting with title contention on several occasions, but never securing a shot at gold.
Georgia’s Topuria is perfect in his MMA career to date, and will be returning to the featherweight division after a one-off lightweight bout at UFC London back in March. That bout, against Jai Herbert, saw Topuria secure his third straight knockout finish.
The UFC’s October 29, 2022 Fight Night card does not yet have a venue, location, or broadcast plan officially announced. No other fights have been announced for the event, which takes place just a week after the promotion’s big UFC 280 card in Abu Dhabi.
