A bout between Anthony Johnson (7-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and fellow welterweight Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will take place in October at UFC 104.
A source close to the negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) verbal agreements are in place and bout agreements are in the process of being finalized.
UFC 104, which features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, takes place Oct. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and airs on pay-per-view.
Johnson, who's posted back-to-back knockout victories over Luigi Fioravanti and Kevin Burns in his two most recent fights, had been slated to fight hard-hitting Matt Brown at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in June. However, Johnson suffered a knee injury prior to the bout and was forced off the card.
Upon his return, the former JUCO national wrestling champion (Lassen Community College) will go for his fourth win in five fights and his fifth consecutive win via knockout.
However, he faces an opponent who's been knocked out just once, to Josh Koscheck in brutal fashion at UFC Fight Night 16 in December. Yoshida rebounded from the loss (his first in the UFC and his first in three years) with a first-round submission victory over Brandon Wolff at UFC 98. Yoshida is now 10-1 in his past 11 fights, and all 10 victories have come via stoppage (six knockouts, three submissions and a disqualification).
It's not known at the time if the Johnson vs. Yoshida bout will earn a spot on the night's televised main card.
For complete coverage of UFC 104, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.