Matheus Nicolau to fight Asu Almabayev on Oct. 19

Matheus Nicolau has a do-or-die fight lined up.

MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the matchup that Nicolau (19-4-1) is set to fight Asu Almabayev in a flyweight bout (20-2) on Oct. 19 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The bout was first reported by Sportkor.

This is a pivotal bout for Nicolau, a top-15 flyweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. The 31-year-old Brazilian emerged as a sleeper...