Ricky Turcios’ UFC career is about to begin.
The Ultimate Fighter 29 bantamweight tournament winner will fight Aimeann Zahabi (8-2) at a UFC event on July 9 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, the promotion announced Monday.
Turcios (11-2), a Team Alpha Male representative, defeated Brady Hiestand by split decision to secure a UFC contract. Turcios won wins over Daniel Argueta, Liudvik Sholinian, and others during the TUF season to earn his place at the UFC live finale. This took place in August. Two straight wins for “Pretty Ricky”, and three out of four in his previous fights.
Zahabi makes his fourth UFC appearance following what will be a 17-month layoff when he steps into the cage in July. The Canadian is coming off of his best performance yet inside the octagon, a first-round knockout of Drako Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 19 in February of last year that stopped a two-fight skid. His UFC record stands at 2-2.
The headline bout at the July 9 UFC Event is likely to be Rafael dos Anjos vs Rafael Fiziev.
