A middleweight matchup between TUF 8 alum “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and top prospect “All-American” Chris Weidman is in the works for UFC 138, which is expected to take place on November 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Verbal agreements are in place for the planned fight.

The UFC announced the bout late on Saturday night. Lawlor most recently snapped a two-fight losing streak with an upset victory over Patrick Côté at UFC 121. He is 3-2 inside the UFC. Weidman has won both of his Octagon bouts to date and is one of the fastest rising prospects at 185 pounds.

Lawlor (7-3-0, 1 NC) looked to potentially be one loss away from receiving his walking papers from the UFC before he was able to edge out Côté in October, but the win was a big one and got him back on track in the increasingly competitive middleweight division. Lawlor has not fought since the bout with Côté, however, and cage rust may prove to be a factor when he returns in November; over one year later. Lawlor has solid wrestling and has finished five opponents to date, but he will give up an edge in the wrestling department to his four-time All-American foe at UFC 138.

Weidman (6-0-0) is a decorated wrestler and submission grappler who made his UFC debut in March. With just four fights to his credit, Weidman picked up a big victory over former contender Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara before choking out Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt late in the first round of their UFC 131 bout last month. The protégé of Matt Serra and Ray Longo has quickly developed a reputation as a fighter to watch for at 185 and a win over Lawlor would take Weidman one step closer to bouts with some of the top contenders in the division.

While not yet officially announced, UFC 138 is believed to be targeted for November 19th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

Note: This event has since been renamed UFC 139, with UFC 138 taking place earlier in the month.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)