A featherweight matchup is the latest addition to UFC on ESPN+ 26 in New Zealand.
Kevin Aguilar (17-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will take on Zubaira Tukhugov (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1-1 UFC), UFC officials announced Tuesday. The bout was first reported by journalist Igor Lazorin.
The event takes place Feb. 22 (Sunday, Feb. 23 locally) at Spark Arena in Auckland. The card is set to be streamed live on ESPN+.
Aguilar saw his nine-fight win streak snapped in his last outing in June when he dropped a unanimous decision to Dan Ige at UFC on ESPN+ 12 in Greenville. The former Legacy FC featherweight champion and Dana White’s Contender Series vet will look to get back to the win column against Russia’s Tukhugov, who is chasing a long-overdue victory of his own.
The 28-year-old from Grozny returned from a three-year layoff at UFC 242 in September, but was unable to pick up the win as he battled to a split draw with British debutant Lerone Murphy. Now the teammate of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will take on the dangerous Aguilar in a pivotal bout for both men.
The event will be headlined by a lightweight clash between crowd-pleasing strikers Paul Felder and Dan Hooker.
With the addition, the latest UFC on ESPN+ 26 card includes:
- Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker
- Vinicius Moreira vs. Tyson Pedro
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Ben Sosoli
- Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek
- Magomed Mustafaev vs. Brad Riddell
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Xiaonan Yan
- Jimmy Crute vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Shana Dobson vs. Rachael Ostovich
- Kevin Aguilar vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
