A battle among Donald Cerrone and Alexander Hernandez has been verbally consented to for UFC on ESPN+ 1. No one from the UFC was authorized to talk freely on the matter because the UFC still did not make an official declaration.
UFC on ESPN+ 1 is on Jan. 19 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and streams on ESPN+. Prelims, nonetheless, are set to televise nationally on ESPN, with Cerrone (34-11 MMA, 21-8 UFC) versus Hernandez (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) filling in as the highlighted session.
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Cerrone, 35, who is 2-4 in last six fights, is coming off a first-round victory against Mike Perry in November at UFC Fight Night 139. Preceding the win, Cerrone disclosed that he planned on coming back to lightweight to have a crack at the title, for which he fought then-champ Rafael dos Anjos in December 2015. That was the last time Cerrone contended at 155 pounds and then moved to welterweight.
After his win over Perry, Cerrone mentioned that the UFC previously had an adversary selected for him yet he wouldn’t state who. In a later Instagram post, Cerrone said he was looking out for McGregor, indicating at a conceivable battle with the former two-division champ. UFC President Dana White would later shoot down that thought.