Matheus Nicolau will make his UFC return on January 23rd, fighting Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC 257. The fight was announced by the UFC on Friday.
The fight joins a pay-per-view card which does not have a location reported for it currently.
Nicolau’s fight will be his first in the UFC since 2018. The Brazilian fighter had a four-fight run in the promotion from 2015 to 2018, putting together three wins and one loss.
Nicolau had a strong year outside the UFC in 2019, picking up two-straight victories. His fight in January is set to be his first in over a year.
He fights Ulanbekov, who won his UFC debut in October, defeating Bruno Silva in a unanimous decision. The win for Ulanbekov came after a strong run on the regional scene, putting together 11 wins and one loss.
UFC 257 is currently scheduled to have a non-championship fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor in the main event. Here’s the updated lineup.
Bout 12: Dustin Poirier (26-6) vs. Conor McGregor (22-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 11: Jessica Eye (15-8) vs. Joanne Calderwood (14-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 10: Khalil Rountree (8-4) vs. Marcin Prachnio (13-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Marina Rodriguez (12-1-2) vs. Amanda Ribas (10-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 8: Brad Tavares (17-6) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior (10-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 7: Ottman Azaitar (13-0) vs. Matt Frevola (8-1-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Shane Burgos (13-2) vs. Hakeem Dawodu (12-1-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Andrew Sanchez (12-5) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Arman Tsarukyan (15-2) vs. Nasrat Haqparast (12-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Umar Nurmagomedov (12-0) vs. Sergey Morozov (16-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Amir Albazi (13-1) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (13-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 1: Tagir Ulanbekov (12-1) vs. Matheus Nicolau (15-2-1) (Flyweight)
