A stellar lightweight matchup could be taking place at UFC 141, as MMAJunkie is reporting that Donald Cerrone and Nate Diaz have agreed to square off at the year-end show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 30th.
Cerrone is coming off an outstanding performance against German kickboxer Dennis Siver, whom he submission in the first round this past Saturday at UFC 137. The performance earned Cerrone “Submission of the Night” honors, his third bonus of the year. If Cerrone wins a bonus at UFC 141, Cerrone would be the first fighter in UFC history to win four bonuses in one year.
Cerrone has won his last six fights, including four-straight since moving to the UFC from the WEC. Following his win over Siver, Cerrone mentioned his desire to fight a fifth time in 2011 following previous wins over Paul Kelly, Vagner Rocha, and Charles Oliveira.
Diaz was also very impressive in his most recent bout, as he submitted Takanori Gomi in the first round at UFC 135 last month. The bout was his return to the lightweight division, after Diaz did a four-fight stint at welterweight, but lost the two to fall to 2-2.
Diaz dismantled Gomi with crisp boxing throughout the opening round, which led to Diaz submitting the Japanese star in the final minute.
With the trilogy between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard finally complete, the lightweight division is open once again. A win for either Cerrone or Diaz would go a long way to determining the immediate future of the division, and possibly earn one of them a title shot in 2012.
UFC 141 is headlined by heavyweight superstar Brock Lesnar welcoming Alistair Overeem to the UFC. Other matchups include Jon Fitch taking on Johny Hendricks, and light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Vladimir Matyushenko squaring off.
