The UFC is set to return to Saudi Arabia early next year and it's bringing one of the world's most devastating knockout artists back with it.
In the first fight that has been made official for the card, Sergei Pavlovich will face Jairzinho Rozenstruik on February 1.
The Russian's last Octagon appearance came at the promotion's debut event in Saudi Arabia where he suffered a decisive loss to Alexander Volkov in June.
Now, Pavlovich is out to break the first losing skid of his career by getting redemption at the Kingdom Arena when he faces off with another heavy hitter in Rozenstruik.
"Bigi Boy" has secured consecutive wins inside the Octagon for the first time since his initial streak that came when he signed with the promotion back in 2019.
That streak was brought to an end by Francis Ngannou and he alternated wins and losses for a while before getting two hard fought wins over Shamil Gaziev and Tai Tuivasa.
The #9-ranked contender will be looking to hand Pavlovich, who occupies the #4-position, his third consecutive loss.
He was previously riding a run of six consecutive finishes, including wins over Curtis Blaydes, Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis before he was stopped by Tom Aspinall in their late notice interim title fight last November.
Considering the power that both men bring to the table, they're never too far away from title contention if they can produce a statement performance.
The news was first reported by MMA Mania's Alex Behunin.
