According to Duke Roufus, Anthony Pettis is set to face fellow UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier in a five-round main event.
Fight fans in Virginia can expect an intriguing lightweight bout to headline UFC FIght Night in Norfolk. Former champion Anthony Pettis is set to face Dustin Poirier at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. This news wasn’t confirmed by the UFC, but it was announced by Pettis’ longtime coach, Duke Roufus.
Pettis (20-6) returned to the 155-pound division earlier this year after a short stint at featherweight, which included missing weight and losing by TKO to Max Holloway at UFC 206. “Showtime” turned in an impressive performance, besting Jim Miller by unanimous decision at last month’s UFC 213 in July.
Poirier (21-5, 1 NC) edged out Miller in UFC 208’s Fight of the Night back in February, but fought to a no-contest vs. Eddie Alvarez at UFC 211. Just when it looked as if “The Diamond” was going to stop Alvarez in round 2, Alvarez turned things around and had Poirier in some trouble, but illegal knees while he was a downed opponent ended the fight. Poirier’s appeal to have the no-contest become a DQ win was denied by Texas’ commission.
Believe it or not, this would be the first non-title main event for Anthony Pettis in his entire UFC career. Poirier’s previous main events were stoppage losses to Michael Johnson and Chan Sung Jung.
UFC Fight Night: Norfolk airs live on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday, November 11th.
