Montreal lightweight John Makdessi to face Haqparast at UFC show in Nashville

TORONTO – Montreal lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi will face German Nasrat Haqparast on March 23 at a televised UFC card in Nashville.

Makdessi (16-6-0) was slated to fight Diego Ferreira at UFC 231 in December in Toronto but had to pull out through injury. The 33-year-old has won his last two fights, beating veterans Ross (The Real Deal) Pearson and Abel (Killa) Trujillo, and three of his last four.

Makdessi is 9-6-0 in the UFC.

The 23-year-old Haqparast (10-2-0) is also coming off two straight wins and is 2-1-0 in the UFC.

The main event at the Bridgestone Arena features Stephen (Wonderboy) Thompson (14-3-1), ranked fourth among welterweight contenders, against former lightweight champion Anthony (Showtime) Pettis (21-8-0).

The Nashville card also features Canadian flyweight Alexis Davis (19-8-0) and strawweight Randa (The Quiet Storm) Markos (8-6-1). Davis, a native of Port Colborne, Ont., who fights out of San Jose, takes on Brazil’s Jennifer Maia (15-5-1) while Markos, from Windsor, Ont., faces Angela (Overkill) Hill (8-5-0).

In other Canadian UFC news, flyweight Gillian (The Savage) Robertson (5-2-0) will fight Venezuela’s Veronica Macedo (5-2-1) on Feb. 23 at a televised event in Prague.

Robertson, from Niagara Falls, Ont., is coming off a submission loss to Brazil’s Mayra Bueno Silva after winning her first two fights in the UFC.