A featherweight fight is in the works for the UFC’s August pay-per-view.
The promotion is currently targeting a fight pinning Canada’s Hakeem Dawodu and Russia’s Zubaira Tukhugov against each other at UFC 252. The event is currently scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by the trilogy bout between heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
Two people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the targeted booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.
Dawodu (11-1-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is riding a four-fight winning streak entering his UFC 252 matchup. Since losing his promotional debut to Danny Henry in March 2018, Dawodu has defeated Austin Arnett, Kyle Bochniak, Yoshinori Horie, and Julio Arce in succession.
Tukhugov (19-4-1 MMA, 4-1-1 UFC), a main training partner and friend of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, will look to turn a win into a winning streak. He is 1-1-1 in his most recent three outings. In February, Tukhugov punched his ticket back into the win column when he knocked out Kevin Aguilar in 3:21.
With the addition, the UFC 252 lineup includes:
- Champion Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier – for heavyweight title
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
- Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
- Livinha Souza vs. Ashley Yoder
- Felice Herrig vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Rogerio Bontorin vs. Manel Kape
- Zelim Imadaev vs. Laureano Staropoli
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
