Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio UFC 86 fight in the works

Lightweights Tyson Griffin (11-1) and Marcus Aurelio (16-5) are penciled in to scrap at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 5, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Griffin — considered a top 155-pound contender even though he has finished just one opponent (David Lee) inside the Octagon in five attempts — is on a three-fight win streak since dropping a fight to Frank Edgar via unanimous decision at UFC 67: “All or Nothing” in February 2007.

He most recently outpointed Gleison Tibau on all three judges scorecards at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” back in February. It was a rather lackluster contest for Griffin’s standards — his fights are usually exciting even though a majority of them thus far in the UFC have ended in decisions.

It’s going to be a hard trend to buck, however, against an opponent such as Aurelio.

“Maximus” — a very talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu player who made a name for himself under the Pride FC banner — is beginning to find some rhythm inside the cage after losing his UFC debut to Clay Guida via unanimous decision at UFC 74: “Respect” in August 2007.

The American Top Team (ATT)-trained fighter has won his last two contests, taking out Luke Caudillo (technical knockout) and Ryan Roberts (submission), respectively, his last two times out. Aurelio is very well paid for UFC standards, meaning that he needs to step up against stiffer competition to prove his worth.

Griffin is certainly a big test.