Trey Ogden Set to Face Kurt Holobaugh on March 23 UFC Fight Night Event

“The Ultimate Fighter 31” lightweight winner Kurt Holobaugh is hoping the third time is the charm.

Holobaugh (20-7, 1 NC), entering into his third stint with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will be taking on Trey Ogden (16-6, 1 NC) at a UFC Fight Night event scheduled on March 23. The two lightweights will do battle inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, as first reported by MMA Fighting on Thursday. The pairing has since been confirmed by both fighters in their respective Instagram pages.

The triangle choke Holobaugh hit on Team Chandler teammate Austin Hubbard in the finals of TUF 31 counted as his first UFC victory, which came in his fifth appearance with the promotion. The Louisiana native first introduced himself to the promotion following the merger with Strikeforce in 2013 with a one-and-done loss, and returned in 2018 after getting signed from the first season of Dana White's Contender Series. After leaving the league for the second time in 2019, “The Hurt” picked up a pair of knockouts over Joziro Boye and Jose Luis Verdugo to earn his place on the reality show.

Ogden last competed in November 2023, where he recorded an arm-triangle choke on Nikolas Motta late into the third round. Referee Mike Beltran stepped in, under the belief that Motta had been rendered unconscious, and Motta’s protests led to a replay review. Ultimately, the officials determined Beltran’s intervention was premature, and the result was overturned to a no contest, much to the ire of “Samurai Ghost” and the fans. The blunder ultimately earned Sherdog’s 2023 “Robbery of the Year” honors, as Ogden’s win bonus was stripped away as a result of the reversed call.

The UFC Fight Night card on March 23 will post up inside of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and no headliner is currently on the books. The limited billing currently includes a featherweight clash between Julian Erosa and Ricardo Ramos, as well as a bantamweight contest pitting Davey Grant against Cody Gibson.