Nik Lentz vs. Nad Narimani booked for UFC Raleigh

U.K. featherweight Nad Narimani will look to bounce back from his first loss under the UFC banner when he faces his most experienced assignment to date, Nik Lentz, at UFC Raleigh on Jan. 25.

UFC announced the featherweight clash via social media on Friday morning. Narimani joins fellow U.K. fighter and former Cage Warriors champion Brett Johns on the card, who is set for a clash with Tony Gravely on the night. Also on the main card, another Cage Warriors alum, Arnold Allen, will put his six-fight win streak with the UFC on the line when he faces title bound Josh Emmett.

Lentz (30-10-2) will look to get back to winning ways against Narimani as he goes into the contest on the back of a second round loss to experienced Brazilian campaigner, Charles Oliveira. The TKO defeat brought an end to a two-fight win steak Lentz had cultivated with wins over veterans Gray Maynard and Scott Holtzmann. With the promotion since 2009, Lentz has banked a record of 14-7-2 in the Octagon.

Narimani (12-3-0) was drafted into the UFC ranks after shooting the prominence by claiming the Cage Warriors featherweight title against European frontrunner Paddy Pimblett in 2017. Although his Octagon debut came a year later, the U.K. featherweight impressed with a decision win over Khalid Taha before adding another notch to the win column against Brazilian Anderson dos Santos. In his sole outing in 2019, Narimani lost via second-round TKO to countryman Mike Grundy when they clashed at UFC London in March.