(This story first ran at AZCentral.com.)

Phoenix native and former WEC champion Jamie Varner will meet Nebraska’s Drew Dober in a lightweight bout at December’s UFC on FOX 13 event in Phoenix.

USA TODAY Sports today confirmed with UFC officials that Varner (21-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) and Dober (14-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) have verbally agreed to the contest, and bout agreements are expected to be distributed shortly.

UFC on FOX 13 takes place Dec. 13 at U.S. Airways Center, and the featured bouts air on FOX. A headlining matchup for the card, as well as ticketing information for the event, are expected to be announced shortly.

Varner has struggled recently through a rough stretch of three-straight losses, but he maintains a reputation as one of the division’s most exciting fighters, as witnessed by a February “Fight of the Night” bonus in a bout with Abel Trujillo. Most recently, Varner suffered a broken ankle in the first round of a matchup with James Krause and was handed a TKO loss when he was unable to continue.

Varner, who held the lightweight belt for the now-shuttered WEC organization, also holds career accolades such as the 2012 World MMA Awards’ “Fight of the Year,” as well as Sherdog.com’s 2012 “Upset of the Year” and has earned three UFC “Fight of the Night” bonus awards in his eight octagon appearances.

Meanwhile, Dober came to the UFC on a six-fight winning streak but now finds himself in a must-win situation after dropping back-to-back decisions to Nick Hein and Sean Spencer.

For more on UFC on FOX 13, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Jamie Varner)