Paul Taylor returns, meets Anthony Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester

After what will be a layoff of nearly 33 months, England’s Paul Taylor will return to the octagon this October – and will be hoping the third time is the charm for a meeting with Anthony Njokuani.

Taylor (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC), who most recently fought at UFC 126, will take on Njokuani (16-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 30 in his home country.

Sources close to the bout recently confirmed the fight booking to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). In July, Taylor’s side would not confirm to MMAjunkie.com that the fight had been booked, but Sherdog first reported it today.

UFC Fight Night 30 takes place Oct. 26 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main card will air on FOX Sports 2 – the sister station to FOX Sports 1, which launches Aug. 17. FOX Sports 2 will be a rebrand from FUEL TV.

Taylor won his most recent UFC fight, stopping Gabe Ruediger with a head kick at UFC 126 in February 2011. That snapped a skid of back-to-back losses to Sam Stout and John Hathaway. The Stout fight was his debut at lightweight after dropping down from welterweight.

Taylor debuted in the promotion at UFC 70 in Manchester, getting a TKO win over Edilberto de Oliveira. He would go on to lose three of his next four to Marcus Davis, Paul Kelly and Chris Lytle – but all three of those losses resulted in “Fight of the Night” bonuses.

Since UFC 126, Taylor has dealt with a rash of injuries that have knocked him out of several planned fights. He was expected to meet Donald Cerrone in 2011, but had to bow out. He then was booked to meet Njokuani at UFC 138 in England, but fell off with an injury. Again, the two were paired up for UFC on FUEL TV 4, but again Taylor had to pull out.

Njokuani has won two of his past three fights, including a knockout of Roger Bowling at UFC on FOX 7 in April. But he has bounced between wins and losses the past three years without being able to put together a win streak.

Now he will look for his first win streak since 2009 when he takes on Kelly. That win streak, three straight, featured three consecutive “Knockout of the Night” honors in the WEC.

With the addition, the latest UFC Fight Night in Manchester card now includes:

• Michael Bisping vs. Mark Munoz
• Melvin Guillard vs. Ross Pearson
• Phil Harris vs. John Lineker
• Anthony Njokuani vs. Paul Taylor

For more on UFC Fight Night in Manchester, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Paul Taylor)