by John Morgan and Steven Marrocco on Sep 09, 2010 at 1:40 pm ET
Undefeated Brazilian lightweight Edson Barboza (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) likely will
serve the first obligation of a multi-fight deal with the UFC when he
meets Darren Elkins (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 123.
Sources close to the event informed
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of
the matchup Wednesday evening and said the fighters have already agreed to the proposed contest, though bout agreements have yet
to be distributed.
Although not officially announced, UFC 123 takes place Nov. 20 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit.
Barboza vs. Elkins is targeted for the non-televised portion of the pay-per-view event.
Barboza, who trains out of Jupiter, Fla.'s The Armory, has stopped all six of his opponents in the first round with five of the victories coming by way of knockout or TKO. Most recently, he made Marcelo Giudici quit with leg kicks in the East Coast MMA staple Ring of Combat organization.
Barboza also holds a number of Muay Thai titles in his native Brazil.
Elkins looks to redeem himself against Barboza after a quick first-round submission loss to newcomer Charles Oliveira at UFC on Versus 2 – a performance that netted Oliveira a "Submission of the Night" bonus. The setback reversed a first-round TKO he earned over Duane "Bang" Ludwig at UFC on Versus 1 when Ludwig broke his leg.
The Duneland Vale Tudo product hasn't fought past the first round in 10 of his 13 professional fights.
For additional coverage of
UFC 123, stay tuned to the
UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
(Pictured: Darren Elkins)
(UPDATED on 9/9/10 at 4:15 p.m. and 7:15 ET. After some initial confusion about the event date, this fight is, in fact, targeted for UFC 123, not UFC 122. Thanks to MMAFighting.com for the assist.)