Chris Curtis vs. Joaquin Buckley added to UFC 282

After some verbal sparring, Chris Curtis and Joaquin Buckley will settle things in the octagon at UFC 282.

Curtis’ management firm Iridium Sports Agency announced the middleweight fight will take place at the Dec. 10 pay-per-view event, and multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting.

UFC 282 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The official bout order for the ESPN+ PPV has not been confirmed.

Buckley called out Curtis in June, sparking a heated interview where Curtis accused Buckley of being a “snake” at the Xtreme Couture facility where they both trained in Las Vegas.

“The coaches warned us that he was a f****** snake,” Curtis told MMA News. “We tried to offer him a hand, he’s a f****** snake. So, f*** Joaquin Buckley. My goal is to get a number next to my name, and I don’t care what he’s doing, I’m ranked higher than Joaquin Buckley on any poll anywhere. Any rankings, anywhere. So I’m not worried about Joaquin Buckley, he doesn’t exist on my radar.”

That’s certainly no longer true as Curtis tries to rebound from a short-notice opportunity that backfired against Jack Hermansson. Curtis nearly got into it with the Swede after losing a decision and was roundly criticized for his post-fight behavior. He later apologized for letting his temper get the best of him.

Buckley, meanwhile, hopes to rebound from a decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov in his previous outing.

UFC 282 is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between champ Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira.