Francis Ngannou vs. Curtis Blaydes 2 targeted for UFC Beijing

Curtis Blaydes is getting the chance to avenge the lone loss of his career.

Sources confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti that Blaydes and Francis Ngannou have verbally agreed to fight in the main event of UFC Beijing at the Cadillac Arena on Nov. 24. This will be a rematch of their April 10, 2016 encounter that Ngannou won by TKO after an eye injury prompted a ringside physician to wave the off the contest at the end of round two.

The heavyweight bout was first reported by ESPN.

Since their first fight, Blaydes (10-1, 1 NC) has won five straight, excluding a TKO win over Adam Milstead that was overturned to a no-contest when Blaydes later tested positive for marijuana. His last three wins have come against Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, and Aleksei Oleinik.

Ngannou (11-3) is on a two-fight skid, the first losing streak of his short career. All of Ngannou’s wins have come by way of knockout or submission including first-round stoppages of Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, and Anthony Hamilton. He failed to wrest the heavyweight title away from Stipe Miocic at UFC 220 in January and followed that up with a unanimous decision loss to Derrick Lewis five months later at UFC 226 in bout that was heavily criticized for its lack of action.