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Ultimate Fighting Championship officials have added a second matchup to the just-announced UFC 138, as two of the 135-pound division?s finest are set to meet Nov. 5 in Birmingham, England.
British bantamweight Brad Pickett will make his Octagon debut on home soil when he takes on streaking Brazilian Renan ?Barao? at Birmingham?s LG Arena. UFC President Dana White broke word of the bout Tuesday in a statement to The Daily Telegraph.
?Pickett is one of the very best fighters to ever come out of the U.K., but Barao hasn?t lost a fight since May 2005,? said White. ?Both guys have verbally agreed to the fight and this is a huge fight for the division.?
Announced Tuesday, UFC 138 will be headlined by the promotion?s first non-title five-round fight, a clash between middleweight contenders Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.
Fighting out of Florida?s American Top Team, Pickett (Pictured) went 3-1 during his stint in World Extreme Cagefighting, his only loss coming via unanimous decision to former top contender Scott Jorgensen. The 32-year-old ?One-Punch? was last seen outpointing Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53 in December; injury kept Pickett from his scheduled UFC debut against Miguel Torres in May.
Barao, 24, hails from the same camp as current UFC featherweight ace Jose Aldo, Nova Uniao. The aforementioned win streak has seen Barao go unbeaten in his last 27 fights, finishing 18 opponents. The Natal native made a successful transition to the UFC in May, when he topped former WEC featherweight titlist Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.
British bantamweight Brad Pickett will make his Octagon debut on home soil when he takes on streaking Brazilian Renan ?Barao? at Birmingham?s LG Arena. UFC President Dana White broke word of the bout Tuesday in a statement to The Daily Telegraph.
?Pickett is one of the very best fighters to ever come out of the U.K., but Barao hasn?t lost a fight since May 2005,? said White. ?Both guys have verbally agreed to the fight and this is a huge fight for the division.?
Announced Tuesday, UFC 138 will be headlined by the promotion?s first non-title five-round fight, a clash between middleweight contenders Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.
Fighting out of Florida?s American Top Team, Pickett (Pictured) went 3-1 during his stint in World Extreme Cagefighting, his only loss coming via unanimous decision to former top contender Scott Jorgensen. The 32-year-old ?One-Punch? was last seen outpointing Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53 in December; injury kept Pickett from his scheduled UFC debut against Miguel Torres in May.
Barao, 24, hails from the same camp as current UFC featherweight ace Jose Aldo, Nova Uniao. The aforementioned win streak has seen Barao go unbeaten in his last 27 fights, finishing 18 opponents. The Natal native made a successful transition to the UFC in May, when he topped former WEC featherweight titlist Cole Escovedo at UFC 130.