The UFC has finalized a matchup between two top fifteen lightweights. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that the promotion was finalizing a matchup between Gregor Gillespie (13-1) and Diego Ferreira (17-3).
The matchup will take place in a few weeks at a UFC Fight Night on May 8th. For Gillespie, this will be his first matchup since November of 2019. Gillespie was supposed to fight a couple of weeks ago, however, due to COVID issues with the opposing corner, the fight was called off.
Gillespie wanted to get rebooked as soon as possible given how long he’s been off. The UFC went to work and found Gillespie a top fifteen opponent in Diego Ferreira.
The last time we saw Gillespie was at UFC 244 when he took on Kevin Lee. That fight was a big step up for Gillespie and it was looked at as his first big challenge inside the octagon. Gillespie had a perfect 13-0 record overall including six wins inside the octagon heading into that matchup.
Of course, we all have seen how that fight turned out. Kevin Lee scored a highlight reel knockout over Gillespie at UFC 244. Gillespie is itching to get back on track towards the top ten and Diego Ferreira is a great place to start.
UFC bounce back for Ferreira
Quietly, Diego Ferreira has been one of the better lightweights in the UFC since he made his debut back in 2014. Since he made his debut, Ferreira has gone 7-3 inside the octagon.
However, the three losses came to Beneil Darius (twice) and Dustin Poirier. The last time we saw Ferreira was back in February when he had his rematch with Beneil Dariush.
Dariush was able to use his superior grappling to pickup the decision win. The loss snapped a six-fight win streak in the UFC for Ferreira. Ferreira went into that matchup coming off of a submission over former UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis.
This is a fantastic addition to the card on May 8th. Both of these lightweight contenders need a bounce back win. Whoever walks out of the cage with their hand raised is likely looking at a fringe top ten opponent next.