Paddy Pimblett will get to compete in front of his home fans.
Pimblett (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Kazula Vargas (12-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on March 19, which is expected to take place at O2 Arena in London with a broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
UFC officials announced the matchup Thursday. The booknig first was reported by MMA Fight Club and later confirmed by both fighters on social media.
Pimblett’s popularity skyrocketed after a first-round TKO of Luigi Vendramini in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 191 this past September. The former Cage Warriors champion has finished his past three opponents, all in Round 1.
After dropping two straight bouts to Alex da Silva and Brok Weaver, Mexico’s Vargas picked up his first promotional win when he defeated Rong Zhu by unanimous decision at UFC 261 in April 2021.
With the addition, the UFC’s London card now includes:
- Alexander Volkov vs. Tom Aspinall
- Arnold Allen vs. Dan Hooker
- Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
- Luana Carolina vs. Molly McCann
- Cody Durden vs. Muhammad Mokaev
- Makwan Amirkhani vs. Mike Grundy
- Jack Shore vs. Timur Valiev
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Sergei Pavlovich
- Gunnar Nelson vs. Claudio Silva
- Cory McKenna vs. Elise Reed
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Kazula Vargas
