Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje Official For UFC On ESPN 2 Headliner

It’s official, Edson Barboza vs. Justin Gaethje will headline UFC on ESPN 2.

Late last week, sources told our Damon Martin that Barboza vs. Gaethje would serve as UFC Philly’s headliner. The UFC made it official earlier today (Jan. 22). Initial reports had the match-up pegged for UFC Nashville. Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz immediately shot it down. March 30 is the date for Barboza vs. Gaethje and it will be the featured bout of the UFC’s second event on the major ESPN network.

Barboza vs Gaethje – What Led To This Bout
Barboza’s last bout ended in a thrashing of Dan Hooker. Barboza turned in a one-sided performance with some nasty kicks to eventually score the third-round TKO. Barboza had his back against the wall as he dropped two straight brutal losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee.

Gaethje’s first-round knockout victory over James Vick put him back in the win column. “The Highlight” suffered losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier going into the bout with Vick. Gaethje’s style didn’t fail him against Vick and he ended up nabbing a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

Also set for the card is a strawweight battle between Michelle Waterson and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. UFC Philly will also feature another 115-pound battle between Alexa Grasso and Marina Rodriguez.