Hioki, Palaszewski square off at Saitama
A featherweight bout between Hatsu Hioki and Bart Palaszewski has been agreed to for UFC 144 in Japan.
Sources close to the bout confirmed the news with Heavy.com on Saturday morning. MMAWeekly.com was the first to report the news.
Hioki made his UFC debut with a close decision win over George Roop at UFC 137. Prior to signing with the UFC, Hioki was a star in Japan with Sengoku and Shooto and built up a name as one of the top-ranked featherweights in the world.
Palaszewski made quick work of Tyson Griffin at UFC 137, blasting the former lightweight contender in the first round.
UFC 144 takes place February 26 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It is headlined by a lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson.