John Maguire drops to lightweight, faces Mitch Clarke at UFC 161

British fighter John Maguire (18-5 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will make the move to lightweight and take on Canadian 155-pounder Mitch Clarke (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at UFC 161.

The Canadian Press first reported the matchup, and UFC officials later confirmed the booking.

Featuring an interim bantamweight title fight between current champ Renan Barao and top contender Eddie Wineland, UFC 161 takes place June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

The positioning of the Clark vs. Maguire matchup was not revealed but is expected for the evening’s preliminary card.

Maguire, who at one time competes as a middleweight, dropped to 170 pounds in 2010 and opened his UFC run with a pair of wins over DaMarques Johnson and Justin Edwards. The win over Johnson even earned Maguire a “Submission of the Night” bonus. However, he’s since dropped back-to-back decisions over powerful wrestlers Matt Riddle and John Hathaway and will now make the move to lightweight in an attempt to right the ship.

Meanwhile, “Danger Zone” Clark came to the UFC in 2011 as an undefeated prospect. However, he’s since suffer a split-decision loss at the hands of Anton Kuivanen and was handed a TKO defeat by John Cholish.

A third-straight loss for either fighter would likely mean their release from the promotion.

For the latest on UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: John Maguire)