Former bantamweight champion Renan Barao returns at UFC on FOX 28, facing Brian Kelleher.
UFC officials announced the bout through the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday, with the Feb. 24 card in Orlando, Fla., also adding a light heavyweight bout between Sam Alvey and Marcin Prachnio and a previously rumored welterweight contest between Mike Perry and Max Griffin.
Barao (34-5, 1 NC) is just 1-2 since failing to regain the UFC bantamweight title from T.J. Dillashaw back in July 2015, which prompted a brief move up to featherweight. The 30-year-old Brazilian attempted to drop back down to 135 pounds for a fight with Aljamain Sterling in July at UFC 214, but the California State Athletic Commission ruled that the encounter would instead become a 140-pound catchweight bout due to Barao having weight cutting issues in the past. He would go on to lose to Sterling by unanimous decision.
Kelleher (18-8) has won two of his three UFC appearances, most recently defeating Damian Stasiak by third-round TKO at UFC Gdansk and walking out with a Fight of the Night bonus.
The Alvey-Prachnio bout was necessitated by Prachnio’s original opponent Jake Collier beingforced to withdraw due to injury. Alvey, no stranger to short-notice fights, is mired in a 1-2 funk in which his only victory was a split-decision nod over Rashad Evans. He sports a pro record of 31-10 with one no-contest overall and will be competing at 205 pounds inside the Octagon for the first time.
Prachnio (13-2) is currently riding an eight-fight win streak. The 29-year-old from Warsaw, Poland, went 4-0 fighting for Singapore’s ONE Championship promotion, with his last two victories coming by way of first-round knockout.
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