A highly-ranked middleweight bout between Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier will headline a UFC Fight Night on August 21, according to ESPN.

Both sides have agreed to the matchup, per sources, which will pit two of the biggest punchers in the sport against each other. Once official, the 185-pound contest will take place at the UFC Fight Night at a location to be announced. It is expected to be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 

Costa (13-1) is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 253 in September 2020. Adesanya went out of his way to taunt Costa in the build-up to the fight, going so far as to call him the ""dirtiest fighter" in the UFC. The loss snapped a 13-fight winning streak for Costa.

The Brazilian bruiser will now look to dust himself down and get back on track when he enters the cage against the dangerous Cannonier.  

A former light heavyweight, Cannonier (13-5) has proven he deserves to be considered one of the best middleweights in the world through four fights in the division.

The 37-year-old came so close to earning a title shot last year after winning three straight fights before losing to former champion Robert Whittaker. 

Fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona, Cannonier is 5-5 in the UFC, not including his win over Ion Cutelaba at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. 

'The Killa Gorilla' has finished every single one of his five UFC victories. He also holds a knockout win over the legendary Anderson Silva, in May 2019. 

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