Alexander Hernandez vs. Islam Makhachev in works for UFC 249 in Brooklyn

The UFC 249 lineup keeps on growing.

A key lightweight battle is in the works for the card, as UFC-ranked lightweights Alexander Hernandez and Islam Makhachev have verbally agreed to compete at the event.

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Bout agreements have yet to be finalized.

UFC 249 takes place April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

A polarizing figure, Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has had more ups than downs in the UFC. After bursting onto the scene with a brutal 42-second knockout of Beneil Dariush in March 2018, Hernandez then won his sophomore outing against Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

The back-to-back victories set him up for a fight with Donald Cerrone in January 2019. Garnering much attention due his fight-week trash talk, Hernandez was TKO’d by Cerrone in Round 2. In his most recent outing in July 2019, Hernandez defeated Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision.

As for Makhachev (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC), the Russian lightweight will share a card with training partner and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Undefeated since early 2016, Makhachev has dominated almost every foe put in his path.

In his most recent outing at UFC 242 in September, Makhachev defeated highly-touted grappler Davi Ramos by three-round unanimous decision. Makhachev has been looking to compete since the victory, but according to his coach Javier Mendez, there weren’t many willing opponents. Now, Makhachev has finally found one.

The latest UFC 249 card now includes:

Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson – for lightweight title
Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Souza
Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
Ben Rothwell vs. Gian Villante
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy
Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
Makhmud Muradov vs. Karl Roberson
Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
Hunter Azure vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Alexander Hernandez vs. Islam Makhachev