Rashad Evans meets Anthony Smith at UFC 225

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will return to 205-pounds after a brief spell at middleweight to face Anthony Smith at UFC 225 in Chicago. The UFC will return to Chicago’s United Center on June 9th for the first time since UFC on FOX 20 in July 2016. Brett Okamato of ESPN first reported the new matchup for the card on Monday, March 12.

Evans (19-7-1) returns to light heavyweight after losing consecutive fights at 185-pounds toSam Alvey and Daniel Kelly. The former UFC light heavyweight champion hasn’t won a fight since defeating Chael Sonnen by TKO at UFC 167 in November 2013.

Smith (28-13) last fought at UFC Belem in February when he lost to Thiago Santos by second round TKO. Before that, ‘Lionheart’ had won three straight fights, including third round knockouts over Hector Lombard and Andrew Sanchez.

Last Wednesday, the UFC finalized a heavyweight contest between Alistair Overeem andCurtis Blaydes for the card, which is also expected to include a strawweight bout betweenClaudia Gadelha and Carla Esparza, and a flyweight fight between Sergio Pettis and Joseph Benavidez. A middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero has been rumored for the event as well.