While a short-notice UFC debut against New York groundfighter Chris Wade didn't work in his favor, French striker Mehdi Baghdad will get a favorable style matchup his second time around in the Octagon when he faces fellow stand-up ace John Makdessi in a UFC 199 lightweight bout on June 4.
In the main event, which airs live on Pay-Per-View from The Forum in Inglewood, California, Luke Rockhold defends his UFC middleweight title against Chris Weidman. In the co-featured bout, Dominick Cruz defends his UFC bantamweight crown against Urijah Faber.
A member of the Ultimate Fighter 22 cast, Baghdad owns an 11-3 record, and despite having a purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, he is at home while striking, as he has ended eight of his wins by knockout.