Worthy will face fellow lightweight Ottman Azaitar at the UFC’s event on Sept. 5. Both fighters announced the booking via social media, which MMA Fighting confirmed with a person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans.
The fight card will take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
“The Deathstar” has won his last seven fights, including a 2-0 start to his UFC career. On less than a week’s notice, Worthy made his promotional debut and picked up one of the biggest upsets of 2019 when he finished Devonte Smith in the first round at UFC 241 in August 2019. The 31-year-old followed up with a third-round submission win in his sophomore appearance against Luis Pena at June’s UFC on ESPN 12 event.
While appearing on MMA Fighting’s What the Heck following his victory over Pena, Worthy hoped he would be matched up with Azaitar after being paired up for the April 18 iteration of UFC 249 prior to the event’s cancellation due to COVID-19 concerns.
Azaitar has won all 12 of his professional fights, including a knockout win in his UFC debut. “Bulldozer,” a former Brave FC lightweight champion, faced Teemu Packalen at UFC 242 this past September and earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus following a first-round finish with an overhand right.
The UFC’s Sept. 5 event will be headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai.
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