The UFC lightweight championship will be unified in September.
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight interim UFC lightweight titleholder Dustin Poirier in the UFC’s first pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi since 2010.
This will be Nurmagomedov’s first Octagon outing since his victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 232 and the now-infamous post-fight melee he played a big part in.
Khabib was handed a nine-month suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC), retroactive to the day the October date the incident happened.
The unbeaten Dagestan fighter will be eligible to fight from 6th July, but he does not compete in the summer months as he observes Ramadan.
While suspended, Khabib made it very clear he had issues with the NAC’s suspensions handed to his teammates for their parts played in the conflict with McGregor’s entourage. There were also rumours of a contract dispute with the UFC, but it appears those problems have been ironed out.
While Nurmagomedov has been on a hiatus away from the sport, Poirier dominated UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway over five rounds en route to earning the interim UFC lightweight championship.
Poirier hasn’t tasted defeat in almost three years and is riding a six-fight unbeaten streak.
In that time, the Louisianan has beaten top names such as Holloway, Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje and Anthony Pettis.
