Edson Barboza vs. Jeremy Stephens in the works for October UFC event

A featherweight matchup between veteran strikers Edson Barboza and Jeremy Stephens is in the works for an October UFC event.

According to a report from Combate, the UFC is currently negotiating a fight between Barboza and Stephens to take place on October 3. The venue and location of the event have not yet been confirmed. Although both fighters have competed at lightweight in the past, this potential pairing would have the two veterans meet in a featherweight bout.

Barboza (20-9) was one of the top lightweights in the UFC for years but in his last fight, he dropped down to featherweight and lost a controversial split decision to Dan Ige. Barboza has lost his last three fights on paper, but his split decision loss to Paul Felder was also very controversial and his other loss came against Justin Gaethje, the current interim UFC lightweight champion. Overall, Barboza is 14-9 in the UFC since joining the promotion in 2010. For the last decade, he has been one of the most exciting strikers in the sport.

Stephens (28-18, 1 NC) has also been one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC for the past 13 years. Since making his UFC debut in 2007, Stephens has racked up a 15-17, 1 NC record. Like Barboza, Stephens has struggled as of late. He’s 0-4, 1 NC over his last five fights, including back-to-back losses to Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez in his last two contests. Despite those losses, he is the No. 9 ranked featherweight in the UFC.

Also scheduled for this is event is a women’s bantamweight bout between Holly Holm and Irene Aldana, another women’s 135lbs fight between Germaine de Randamie and Julianna Pena, a heavyweight bout between Yorgan de Castro and Carlos Felipe, and a women’s strawweight bout between Jinh Yu Frey and Loma Lookboonmee.

Who do you think wins, Edson Barboza or Jeremy Stephens?