Gegard Mousasi vs. Derek Brunson planned for UFC 200

The pieces are slowly coming into place for the landmark UFC 200.

Gegard Mousasi is very likely to meet Derek Brunson on the July 9 card in Las Vegas in a key middleweight showdown. MMAFighting.com confirmed after an initial Thursday report by FOXSports.com.

Mousasi (38-6-2), a former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, is coming off a victory over Thales Leites in the co-feature bout of UFC Fight Night 84 on Feb. 27 in London. That was Mousasi's third win in his past four fights.

Brunson (15-3), meanwhile, has won four straight matchups and is 6-1 in the UFC. The JacksonWink fighter's last victory was a first-round TKO of Roan Carneiro on Feb. 21 in Pittsburgh, which was his third consecutive first-round finish.

UFC 200 will be the first UFC event at the opulent new T-Mobile Arena.

A Wednesday report of a planned Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne matchup was the first significant UFC 200 fight to publicly surface.