Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev look set to fight at the third attempt, according to UFC president UFC Dana White.
White confirmed to MMA Junkie that he has booked Edwards and Chimaev to be the main event on the March 13 Fight Night, with a venue yet to be finalised for the welterweight clash.
Both Edwards and Chimaev have had to withdraw from a scheduled fight due to respective coronavirus infections. Edwards tested positive ahead of Fight Night 183, and Chimaev then pulled out of the rescheduled January 20 fight when he failed to gain match fitness after struggling with his own case of Covid-19.
With both fighters now recovered, they are now due to fight in two months’ time. Edwards has won his last eight fights, and last lost five years ago to Kamara Usman. This fight would represent his first action in the octagon for a year and a half, following his July 2019 win over Rafael dos Anjos.
Chimaev is on a winning streak of his own, with three wins on the bounce since the start of his UFC career.
The latest announcement means that there are four fights scheduled for March 13:
- Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez
- Matthew Semelsberger vs. Jason Witt
- Jinh Yu Frey vs. Gloria de Paula