Chad Mendes vs. Ricardo Lamas headlines UFC Fight Night in Virginia
The UFC will return to Fairfax, Virginia and the campus of George Mason University for a rare afternoon UFC Fight Night card as top five featherweights square off when Chad Mendes takes on Ricardo Lamas in the five round main event.
UFC officials confirmed the new bout and card on Sunday during FOX Sports 1 UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver.
Mendes returns to action for the first time since losing a close decision to featherweight champion Jose Aldo in one of the best fights of all 2014. Mendes has proven to be one of the top 145-pound fighters on the planet in the last few years and after taking Aldo to the limit in his last bout a victory over Lamas will get him right back into the title race.
Lamas also came up short in his title bid when he faced Aldo in 2014, but he's picked up two wins in a row since that time including a dominant finish over Dennis Bermudez in his last trip to the Octagon.
Now Mendes faces Lamas in a pivotal matchup at featherweight as both fighters will look to make a statement in a growing 145-pound contender's race.
Also added to the card is a co-main event pitting Bobby Green against Jorge Masvidal in a fight between two very tough lightweight competitors.
This is actually the third time Green and Masvidal have been scheduled to fight. They were originally set to meet while both were competing in Strikeforce and then again at UFC 178 in September 2014 but injuries and changes to the cards kept them from ever actually facing off.
Now they will meet as the co-main event for the UFC Fight Night card in Virginia.
The third bout confirmed for the show on Sunday night will see former Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa take on Canadian competitor Mitch Clarke.
Clarke has picked up wins in his last two fights in a row while Chiesa tries to rebound after a recent loss to Joe Lauzon.
FOX Sports 1 UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas goes down from Fairfax, Virginia with a rare 1pm ET start time for the card taking place on Saturday, April 4.
