Two of the UFC’s top-rated welterweights will be going at it in four weeks, but not in the Octagon.
DT Promotions out of Pensacola, Fla., has announced Jorge Masvidal (33-13) vs. Anthony Pettis (22-8) in a grappling match for an iPPV show on June 15 at the Pensacola Bay Center.
The match is billed as a jiu-jitsu superfight. Masvidal is currently the No. 4 contender in the UFC’s welterweight division, which is championed by Kamaru Usman. The bout with Pettis comes three weeks before Masvidal’s July 6 UFC 239 bout with Ben Askren, a fight with significant championship implications.
Pettis, a former UFC lightweight champion, returned to welterweight, a division he fought at early in his career, and knocked out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The win established Pettis as the No. 8 ranked contender. He’ll do the grappling match as a prelude to a major fight with Nate Diaz on a UFC 241, on Aug. 17 from Anaheim, Calif.
ESPN first reported the match on Sunday.
The show will also include a grappling match featuring No. 2 ranked middleweight contender Yoel Romero (13-3).
The event will be a benefit show for the Bully Proof Foundation.
Source: MMAfighting.com
