A lightweight matchup is in the works pitting former champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis against Michael Chiesa at the upcoming UFC 223 card in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 7.
Sources close to the matchup confirmed the news to MMAWeekly on Tuesday following an initial report from ESPN.
Chiesa (14-3) will fight for the first time since falling by submission to Kevin Lee in his last appearance inside the Octagon in June 2017. The end of that bout didn’t come without controversy, however, as Chiesa complained that the referee stopped the fight too early after he was caught in a rear naked choke in the opening round.
As for Pettis (20-7), he’s suffered through a rough run in his career ever since surrendering the UFC lightweight title back in 2015. Pettis has gone just 2-5 over his past seven fights including a brief stint at featherweight as well as a recent loss to Dustin Poirier after returning to 155 pounds.
Now Pettis and Chiesa will look to get back in the win column when they meet in April at UFC 223.
