On the cusp of a top 10 ranking, Nikita Krylov has his next fight booked. The Ukrainian light heavyweight contender will fight Ed Herman on July 30th, at UFC 201 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. UFC officials announced the fight on Friday.
Krylov (20-4) has won his last 4 bouts, all of which ended in a stoppage win. Since suffering a Von Flue choke loss to Ovince Saint Preux in his 205 lbs debut, "The Miner" has knocked out Cody Donovan, submitted Stanislav Nedkov, Marcos Rogerio de Lima, and most recently tapped out BJJ black belt Francimar Barroso back in May. At 24 years old, he's one of the few young fighters on the entire UFC LHW roster.
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Herman (23-11, 1 NC) has been competing in the sport since before Krylov was a teenager. "Short Fuse" returned to light heavyweight after a knockout loss to Derek Brunson, and the TUF 3 runner-up impressively stopped Tim Boetsch at UFC Boston in January. The 35-year-old seeks his first winning streak since he defeated Tim Credeur, Kyle Noke, and Clifford Starks consecutively from 2011-2012.
UFC 201 is headlined by welterweight champion Robbie Lawler's title defense against Tyron Woodley, while flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson seeks his 9th straight successful defense with a win against Wilson Reis in the co-main.