Hermes Franca (19-7) and Joe Lauzon (17- 4) have been offered bout agreements to compete in a 155-pound match up at UFC Fight Night 17 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 7.
MMAmania.com today confirmed that the lightweight bout, which would likely air on the televised Spike TV main card, is currently in the works.
Franca has been on a roller coaster ride during the past 18 months. The former number one contender recently returned from a 12-month steroids suspension, losing to Frank Edgar in his July comeback fight at UFC Fight Night 14.
The Brazilian then rebounded with a win against his former Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote" in October. And shortly thereafter he was arrested in Jupiter, Fla., on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
That case is still pending; however, Franca has insisted that he was exhausted, which caused him to drive erratically. He is innocent until proven guilty.
Lauzon, too, rebounded from a recent loss -- a first for him inside the Octagon -- to stop Kyle Bradley via technical knockout (strikes) at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. Prior to the win, he was one of the many recent victims of Kenny Florian courtesy of a second round technical knockout loss at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April.
"J-Lau" was the favorite to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 season before meeting up with Manny Gamburyan in the semifinals. He has four wins in five attempts inside the Octagon.
To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.
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