UFC announces Anthony Pettis vs. Edson Barboza for UFC 197

The UFC announced another exciting bout for the UFC 197 card taking place on April 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will meet Edson Barboza that has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

#UFC197 lands LW scrap between @ShowtimePettis & @EdsonBarbozaJR | April 23 | https://t.co/KozD8ewegl pic.twitter.com/7tx5QNtyuF

— UFC (@ufc) February 18, 2016

The UFC 197 main event will feature the light heavyweight championship rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones and the flyweight title fight featuring Demetrious Johnson against Henry Cejudo.

Pettis is coming off a two-fight losing streak, which is a first in his professional MMA career. Pettis lost a close split-decision fight against former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 81 in January. Prior to the fight with Alvarez, Pettis lost a unanimous decision title fight to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185, which took place in March of last year.

With an MMA record of 18-4 and UFC record of 5-3, “Showtime” is looking to get back on track to getting in contention for the title.

Edson Barboza, who has had six “Fight of the Night” awards is also coming off a loss in his recent fight with Tony Ferguson at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, which took place in December of last year.

Barboza holds a professional MMA record of 16-4 and has gone 10-4 in the UFC.

UFC 197 is shaping up to be an exciting draw with the following bouts confirmed by the UFC:

Champ Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones – for light heavyweight title
Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo – for flyweight title
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis
Rafael Natal vs. Robert Whitaker
Jessica Aguilar vs. Juliana Lima
Clint Hester vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez

Who are you picking to win the exciting matchup between Anthony “Showtime” Pettis and Edson Barboza? Share your pick with us in the comment section!