Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland to headline Feb. 5 UFC event

Middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Sean Strickland are set to battle in early 2022.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with sources that Hermansson (22-6) and Strickland (24-3) will meet in the main event of the UFC’s upcoming Feb. 5 card, with a location still to be determined. Contracts have not been signed yet.

The bout was first reported by ESPN.

This matchup pits two of the top 10 middleweights in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings against one another, with Hermansson currently ranked No. 8 and Strickland one spot behind at No. 9.

Hermansson is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan in May. He has alternated wins and losses in his past four fights following a four-fight win streak from May 2018 to April 2019. Outside of MMA, Hermansson also competed in a freestyle wrestling match last month, losing to Khamzat Chimaev.

Strickland has been one of the hottest fighters in the UFC since moving up from the welterweight division. He has won five straight fights, including lopsided decision wins over middleweight veterans Uriah Hall and Krzysztof Jotko.