Khabib Nurmagomedov and Gleison Tibau to Meet at UFC 148 in Las Vegas

Gleison Tibau (UFC)

Nurmagomedov unbeaten at 17-0

Khabib Nurmagomedov will put his unbeaten record on the line this summer when he takes on a UFC lightweight on the rise.

Nurmagomedov will meet Gleison Tibau on July 7 at UFC 148 in Las Vegas. UFC officials recently announced the fight booking for the card. The UFC’s annual Independence Day weekend card takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event will be preceded by a UFC Fan Expo, which will take place at Mandalay Bay.

Nurmagomedov (17-0, 1-0 UFC) made a highly anticipated UFC debut in January at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller in Nashville, Tenn., and submitted Kamal Shalorus in the third round to improve to 17-0. Of the Russian’s victories, all but four have come by knockout or submission. But Tibau will be his most accomplished opponent to date.

Tibau (25-7, 10-5 UFC) is riding a three-fight winning streak and has seen his hand raised in five of his last six fights and seven of his last nine. The only two losses in that stretch came to Melvin Guillard by split decision and a unanimous decision setback against Jim Miller in September 2010. Two of Tibau’s last three, though, have been split decisions. At UFC 139 in November, he got past Rafael dos Anjos on two of the three judges’ cards. And at UFC 128 in March 2011, he edged out Kurt Pellegrino. But in between those wins, he picked up a Submission of the Night bonus for his rear naked choke against Rafaello Oliveira at UFC 130.

UFC 148 is expected to feature a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber upon the completion of their coaching stints on the current season of “The Ultimate Fighter LIVE” on FX. The UFC also has announced a middleweight fight between Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch for the card, as well as a bout between former UFC champion Rich Franklin and former Strikeforce champ Cung Le.