CONFIRMED: ‘The Black Country Banger’ Jai Herbert will take on undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC London in lightweight showdown on March 19
- Jai Herbert will be among the British stars competing at UFC London on March 19
- ‘The Black Country Banger’ will be taking on Ilia Topuria in lightweight bout
- Herbert bounced back to winning ways in last fight against Kharma Worthy
- He was originally scheduled to face Mike Davis, who was forced to withdraw
Jai Herbert will take on undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC London on March 19, Sportsmail can exclusively confirm.
‘The Black Country Banger’ was originally planning to lock horns with Mike Davis but the American opted not to travel for financial reasons.
A replacement has been found in the shape of Topuria, the German-born Georgian who usually fights down at lightweight but is moving up to 155-pounds for this contest.
Jai Herbert (left) will be fighting on the stacked UFC London card on March 19 next month
Herbert will is to take on Ilia Topuria, who is moving up from featherweight for the contest
Herbert, a former Cage Warriors champion, has fought three times in the UFC and won his most recent clash after dropping the first two.
He has dealt with incredibly competitive match-making, losing to Francisco Trinaldo and Renato Moicano before an impressive KO of Kharma Worthy last October.
The Wolverhampton native confirmed on social media last week that he has signed the bout agreement for London, which has now been confirmed by the UFC.
It should come as no surprise that Topuria is moving up a division after he was forced pull out of his January 22 bout with Movstar Evloev due to weight cutting issues.
He has a record of 11-0 and most recently knocked out jiu-jitsu wizard Ryan Hall last July.
Herbert overcame Kharma Worthy for his first victory in the UFC last October
For Herbert, he will enter the bout with a renewed confidence having feared the axed if he’d have lost his previous fight last year.
After beating Worthy, he had reflected: ‘I needed a win and a win in good fashion otherwise I’d have been straight out the door. I needed to win in spectacular fashion.’
The showdown with Herbert is the latest encounter to fill and already beefed up card for the UFC’s return to London for the first time since the pandemic struck.
Herbert will have plenty of home support at the O2 Arena and the evening is being headlined by Tom Aspinall vs Alexander Volkov.
Arnold Allen takes on Dan Hooker in the co-main event, while Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Nathanial Wood, Jack Shore and Mohammed Mokaev are also taking centre stage.
Herbert was originally slated to face Mike Davis but the American turned the fight down