Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler Agree to Nov. 6 Match at UFC 268

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An all-action Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight barnburner is being targeted for November.

According to ESPN on Friday, Justin Gaethje (22-3) has agreed to take on Michael Chandler (22-6) at 155 pounds on UFC 268. This event, which is slated for Nov. 6, does not official have a venue or location. However, the fight card is being considered for Madison Square Garden in New York. Both men will be coming off of championship stoppage losses.

Gaethje, who posts a stellar 91 percent career finish rate, is coming off the first submission loss of his career. The interim champ looked to unify his strap against Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2020, and he fell short, getting put to sleep by a triangle choke in the second round. The loss snapped a four-fight knockout streak where “The Highlight” dispatched James Vick, Edson Barboza, Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson in spectacular fashion.

Chandler, with his own high stoppage rate of 77 percent throughout his 12-year career, was recently knocked out by Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight crown. The loss ended a victorious three-fight first-round knockout stretch, which saw Chandler smash Sidney Outlaw and Benson Henderson inside the Bellator MMA cage. His UFC debut went swimmingly, putting Dan Hooker away at the midpoint of the first round to earn his crack at gold.

UFC 268 is expected to go down at Madison Square Garden in New York, although the venue has not been made official yet. Only one other bout is currently scheduled for the card, in the form of a welterweight championship grudge rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.