Justin Gaethje vs Edson Barboza in the works for late March

After a big one-punch knockout win over James Vick in his last time out at UFC Lincoln in August 2018, Justin Gaethje (19-2) is ready to get back at it.

Late last month, Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed that he was looking at Edson Barboza (20-6) for Gaethje’s next matchup.

Well, it appears as if they’ve been able to get the wheels in motion.

Farah Hannoun has reported that a bout between the brilliant leg kickers is in the works for some time at the end of March. A follow-up report from MMAJunkie states that this fight is likely to take place on March 23 in Nashville, Tennesse on ESPN+ or at the event the week after on March 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on ESPN.

EXCLUSIVE: Edson Barboza (@EdsonBarbozaJR) vs. Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) in the works for March event (date and location TBD) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/dPlKw76Tcp

— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) January 16, 2019

“EXCLUSIVE: Edson Barboza (@EdsonBarbozaJR) vs. Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) in the works for March event (date and location TBD) #UFC #MMA” Hannoun’s tweet read.

Since joining the UFC in the Summer of 2017, the former World Series of Fighting lightweight king Justin Gaethje has continued on with his reign of violence in exciting fights.

Now 2-2 in his tenure with the promotion, Gaethje has fought in three fight of the year candidates.

For Brazil’s Barboza, he just got back on track by serving up a prolonged beatdown to the disturbingly resilient “Hangman” Dan Hooker at UFC on Fox 31. Prior to the losses, Barboza suffered brutal defeats to the likes of Kevin Lee and the current champion of their division, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Stylistically, Gaethje vs Barboza is sure to deliver the excitement. As is the case with literally any Gaethje fight if we’re going to be completely honest.

It’s a flashy yet consistent striker vs the relentless stalking pressure striker who has wrestling in his back pocket.

on 1/15/2019