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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Perhaps the third time's the charm. After their first meeting ended due to an illegal headbutt, and an injury delayed the rematch, Rani Yahya and Johnny Bedford have once again been booked against one another.
This time it comes at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia in September, as the UFC announced the matchup on Thursday.
Bedford thought he had their first bout when in April in Abu Dhabi after Yahya went down and he finished it up with strikes. However, a clear headbutt caused the knockdown, and the sub-minute fight was ruled a no contest.
When Yahya got injured prior to their scheduled rematch at UFC Fight Night 44 in June, Bedford took on Cody Gibson instead, with a second bout ending in controversy when the referee stopped the fight a bit early after a knockdown.
Now officially winless since December of 2012, Bedford hopes to beat Yahya officially this time around. It's a win Yahya needs as well, as his fight prior to the Bedford no contest was a decision loss to Tom Niinimaki.
UFC Fight Night 51 airs live on Fox Sports 1 on Sept. 13, headlined by the heavyweight bout between Andrei Arlovski and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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