The upcoming UFC on ESPN+ debut card just got even bigger with the addition of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone returning to lightweight to take on rising star Alexander Hernandez on Jan. 19 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sources close to the contest confirmed that bout agreements have been issued for the fight. MMAJunkie initially reported the contest.
Cerrone confirmed his plans to return to lightweight following a first round submission win over Mike Perry in his most recent fight at 170 pounds. During his previous run at lightweight, ‘Cowboy’ was often a top five ranked contender and he did fight for the title back in 2015.
Coincidentally that was the last time Cerrone fought at lightweight until his planned return to the division in January.
As for Hernandez, he stormed into the UFC on short notice and immediately made waves by knocking out Beneil Dariush in his debut.
From there, Hernandez picked up an impressive win over Canadian prospect Olivier Aubin-Mercier back in July.
Now Hernandez will take on the fighter with the most wins and most finishes in UFC history as Cerrone looks to start his climb back into title contention in 2019.
The first UFC on ESPN+ card will be headlined by a flyweight title fight as Henry Cejudo takes on bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw in a five round battle with the 125-pound belt on the line.
