A rumored welterweight bout between Dan Hardy (23-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Anthony Johnson (8-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is being targeted for March's UFC Fight Night 24 event, and it'll likely take co-main-event status.

A source close to the negotiations today confirmed the March 26 bout with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Previous reports stated the fight could take place at UFC Fight Night 24 or UFC 128, though the former now is expected to feature the televised fight.

As MMAjunkie.com first reported, UFC Fight Night 24 takes place March 26 in Seattle and airs on the UFC's longtime cable partner, Spike TV. Veteran light heavyweights Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Tito Ortiz (15-8-1 MMA, 14-8-1 UFC) headline the show.

Hardy joined the UFC in 2008 after success on the British fight circuit. He opened his UFC career with four consecutive wins, including victories over Marcus Davis and Mike Swick, to earn a title shot with champion Georges St-Pierre. Hardy suffered a lopsided unanimous-decision loss in the March title fight, and he then returned in October and suffered a first-round knockout to Carlos Condit.

He'll look to end the skid against Johnson, who fights for the first time since November 2009 after suffering a knee injury that promoted a lengthy recovery time. Recently, a three-fight win streak that included KO wins over Kevin Burns, Luigi Fioravanti and Yoshiyuki Yoshida came to an end with a submission loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 106.