Paul Taylor gets home fight in UFC

Cannock's Paul 'Relentless' Taylor will have home advantage in his next outing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship with UFC 138 set for Birmingham.

The lightweight has been added to the November 5 bill at the LG Arena, which will also see the UFC debut of Birmingham's Mixed Martial Artist Vaughan Lee.

Two-time world kickboxing champion Taylor, who trains at the 'Pure Mixed Martial Arts' gym in Cannock, takes on Muay Thai fighter Anthony Njokuani.

Njokuani is a more experienced opponent and comes off the back of a victory against Andre Winner earlier this month.

The Nigerian-American has 15 UFC wins to Taylor's four but a step up in class is what the 30-year-old is looking for, after beating Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Gabe 'Godzilla' Ruediger by stoppage last time out in February.

Ruediger fell to a series of punches, rather than kicks, in the second round that night which complemented some much-improved wrestling ability, as the bright lights of Las Vegas spurred Taylor on.

But a home fight has raised the stakes to another level, Taylor insists.

He said: "I cannot wait to fight at UFC 138 in front of my home crowd. I never disappoint my fans whenever I step in the ring and fighting just seven miles away from my town is really exciting.

"My training is going really well. We are just 14 weeks from the event at Birmingham's LG Arena on November 5 and everything is coming together.

"I feel very fit and am confident that I'm going to give my opponent, Anthony Njokuani, the toughest fight of his life and will walk out with the win."

Lee, a MMA fighter of over 20 years experience, will be the hometown hero on the LG Arena show, having signed a deal this week.

His opponent has yet to be confirmed.