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Report: Justin Gaethje vs. Al Iaquinta headlines UFC Fight Night 135 in Nebraska (Updated)

(UPDATED on 6/7/18 at 10 a.m. ET with reaction from Al Iaquinta.)

The UFC’s debut event in Lincoln, Neb., appears to have a headliner – as unlikely as it seemed just a day earlier.

Lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje (18-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Al Iaquinta (13-4-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will fight at UFC Fight Night 135 in August, according to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto (via Twitter):

UFC officials haven’t made a formal announcement, and as of this morning, Gaethje hadn’t publicly acknowledged the fight. Iaquinta, though, seemed to suggest it might not be a done deal (via Twitter):

UFC Fight Night 135 takes place Aug. 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb. It airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, though the full fight card and bout order are still a long way from being finalized.

The fight appeared unlikely just a day earlier; UFC President Dana White joined the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast and shot down the possibility while blaming it on Iaquinta’s desire for a better payday.

“Yeah that’s a fun fight, but it isn’t going to happen,” White told the UFC’s official podcast. “Iaquinta is absolutely 100 percent out of that fight.”

The bout, though, had long been rumored, and Gaethje event lamented the possible loss of it this past month (via Instagram):

With the fight now apparently a go, it features the No. 7 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings (Gaethje) taking on No. 13 (Iaquinta).

Gaethje looks to snap a two-fight skid; after debuting with the UFC in 2017 and moving to 18-0 overall with a TKO victory over Michael Johnson, the 29-year-old former WSOF champion has suffered back-to-back knockout losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier, though both losses earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

He takes on Iaquinta, who returned from a yearlong layoff this year and suffered a unanimous-decision title loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov; it came in a short-notice affair as a replacement Paul Felder (and Iaquinta wasn’t eligible for the belt because of a weigh-in quirk due to the late notice). The defeat snapped the 31-year-old “TUF 15” runner-up’s five-fight winning streak.

For more on UFC Fight Night 135, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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