Veteran striking favorite, Edson Barboza is set to defend his status in the featherweight top-15 early next year — booking an intriguing pairing with the streaking, Steve Garcia at a UFC Fight Night event on 22. — with an official location or venue for the card yet to be determined.
Barboza, the current number fifteen ranked featherweight challenger, has been sidelined since facing British contender, Lerone Murphy earlier this year in a main event fight at the UFC Apex facility — suffering an eventual unanimous decision loss to snap a two-fight winning run.
As for Garcia, the Albquerque native is enjoying an impressive winning run in the Octagon, racking up his fifth consecutive win courtesy of a first round knockout win over Kyle Nelson at UFC Vegas 97 back in September.