Henry Cejudo vs. Sergio Pettis in the works for UFC 218

A flyweight matchup between Henry Cejudo and Sergio Pettis is on course to happen at UFC 218 in Detroit.

Flyweight contenders Henry Cejudo and Sergio Pettis were supposed to fight each other at UFC 211 back in May, but when that fight got cancelled due to a Cejudo hand injury, both men competed in separate bouts and came away with impressive victories. According to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC is close to finalizing this matchup for its December 2nd pay-per-view in Detroit, Michigan.

Cejudo (11-2) looked utterly phenomenal in his TKO win over Wilson Reis at UFC 215. The Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling had previously dropped consecutive fights to champion Demetrious Johnson and (perhaps a little bit controversially) Joseph Benavidez, but the 30-year-old’s striking looked better than ever in his dismantling of the Brazilian.

Pettis (16-2) has won four straight fights, all by unanimous decision. His last outing saw him rally from a slow start to defeat Mexico’s Brandon Moreno in the five-round UFC Mexico City main event in August. The 24-year-old also holds wins over Chris Cariaso, Chris Kelades, and John Moraga during his current stretch of success. Pettis’ last loss was by TKO to Ryan Benoit at UFC 185 in May 2015.

UFC 218 does not have a main event, but it’s been confirmed that heavyweights Francis Ngannou and Alistair Overeem will compete in the co-main event. It’s also been reported that the UFC is looking at having featherweight champ Max Holloway take on Frankie Edgar in the headlining spot.