Johnny Bedford will get a second chance to finish Rani Yahya -- the legal way -- after their unfortunate "no contest" on the Fight Pass "Prelims" of the UFC Fight Night 39 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which took place earlier this year inside Du Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
A "Brutal" headbutt brought an end to their bantamweight bangfest overseas.
Following the bout, Bedford (19-11, 1 NC) apologized for his post-fight meltdown (read it here) and asked the promotion to consider a rematch for the UFC Fight Night 44 event on Jun 28, 2014, inside the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. His request was granted, but Yahya pulled out due to injury, and Bedford went on to lose to Cody Gibson.
He needs a win ... badly.
Yahya (19-8, 1 NC) is back in the bantamweight division on the heels of a split-decision loss to Tom Niinimaki at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18 Finale last November. It was just the second loss for the Brazilian at 145 pounds (the first coming to Chad Mendes) and spoiled a three-fight winning streak.
Who takes their second go-round?
UFC Fight Night 51 on FOX Sports 1 will be headlined by a heavyweight rematch pitting Brazilian "Bigfoot," Antonio Silva, against former 265-pound kingpin Andrei Arlovski. Elsewhere on the card, Paulo Thiago throws down opposite Joe Riggs in welterweight action, while Leonardo Santos gets busy with fellow lightweight Lukasz Sajewski.
For more on UFC Fight Night 51 check out the current "Bigfoot vs. Silva" fight card and rumors here.