A potential barnburner between UFC middleweights Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva is in the works for an upcoming March 12 Fight Night event.
MMA Junkie was among the first to report news of the booking.
Pereira, a former Glory kickboxing world champion who signed with the UFC this year, is coming off of his promotional debut win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. He landed a vicious flying knee followed up by a barrage of punches to secure the second-round finish.
Pereira will face a step up in competition against Silva, who has been on a tear with seven-straight wins in M-1 and the UFC. He has won all seven bouts by knockout, including most recently against Jordan Wright at UFC 269.
The two sides have verbally agreed to the bout ahead of an anticipated formal announcement by the promotion.
Alex Pereira Looks To Continue His Rise In MMA
Pereira is well known for being the only man to ever knock out Israel Adesanya in either kickboxing or MMA. During his time in Glory, he earned the light heavyweight and middleweight world titles before making the move to the UFC and MMA.
Along with his kickboxing accolades, Pereira had put on impressive performances in smaller MMA promotions such as Legacy and Jungle Fight. He registered quick knockouts over the likes of Marcelo Cruz and Thomas Powell.
The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between top contenders Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev. The venue and location have yet to be determined for the event.
What are your thoughts on this UFC middleweight matchup?