Francis Carmont (21-7) and Costa Philippou (12-2) will be duking it out for a place in the top levels of the UFC Middleweight division at UFC 165. The fight is expected to take place on the main card of the event, which is headlined by a Light Heavyweight title match between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.
Both fighters are coming off wins, but each of their last victories have been marred by controversies.
Carmont’s last victory was a decision win over Lorenz Larkin at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Melendez, a fight which many fans believed should have gone to Larkin. Philippou’s last win was a third round TKO victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 155, during which Boetsch received an eye gouge and a headbutt.
That should not take anything away from both fighters, however, as they each have five straight victories going into their fight.
Whoever wins the anticipated match probably won’t get a shot at the Middleweight strap, but a top five spot is would not be out of the question.
