A lightweight scrap between Marc Diakiese and Reza Madadi has been announced for UFC 204, which takes place in Manchester.

Diakiese himself shot down a rumour that the pair were scheduled to fight in Belfast, but just days later, the official UFC Europe Twitter account announced the fight for Manchester.


Diakiese (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a household name on the UK MMA scene and is known as a scintillating fighter with vicious knockout power. “Bonecrusher” was 4-0 when he made his BAMMA debut, and after stringing together three straight decision victories, had seven professional MMA wins and a Lonsdale Lightweight title shot. Diakiese finished a bout for the first time since his fourth pro bout, dispatching of then undefeated Rick Selvarajah in just 24-seconds. Then, at BAMMA 25, Diakiese came up against his ultimate rival. The ASW product faced Kane Mousah following years of fierce trash talk. As the fight got closer, the talk became more intense, and after it nearly boiling over at weigh-ins, Diakiese and Mousah fought. With years of bad blood, thousands of words spoken, and what seemed like a real dislike between the two, the crowd were silent. The pair were introduced, and the referee told them to fight. A few feints, one or two meaningless shots, and then the finish came. At just 36-seconds of the first round, Diakiese planted Mousah with a right hand, ending the fight and the rivalry.

Madadi (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) debuted in the UFC with a second round guillotine choke victory over Yoislandy Izquierdo at UFC on FUEL TV 2 before losing a split decision to Cristiano Marcello at UFC 153 in Brazil. “Mad Dog” got back to winning ways at UFC on FUEL TV 9, submitting Michael Johnson with a D’arce choke. The Iranian has went 1-1 in his last two UFC bouts, losing a decision to Norman Parke at UFC Dublin before stopping Yan Cabral in the third round of their bout at UFC Rotterdam.

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