A marquee welterweight matchup will go down this summer when former title challengers Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson meet at UFC 264.
Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Thompson (16-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) have verbally agreed to the bout, UFC president Dana White told broadcast partner ESPN on Friday.
UFC 264 takes place July 10 and airs on pay-per-view following prelims likely to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+. No official date or venue has been announced, but White recently said the promotion is targeting T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Burns, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, will attempt to rebound from his title-fight loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in February. The result snapped a six-fight winning streak.
No. 5-ranked Thompson, meanwhile, will attempt to continue his climb back to a crack at the belt after two failed bids earlier in his career. “Wonderboy” is currently riding a two-fight winning streak against Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.
With the addition, the UFC 264 lineup now includes:
- Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
- Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
- Jessica Eye vs. Jennifer Maia
