UFC vet Eric Spicely returns to CES on Jan. 19

Eric Spicely is going back to his roots.

Following a six-fight run with the UFC, the recently released Rhode Island native returns to the Classic Entertainment & Sports MMA promotion on Jan. 19 for CES 54, which takes place at the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. He will fight Stephen Regman (9-3) in a middleweight bout.

Spicely (10-4) is perhaps best known for his stunning upset of current light heavyweight contenderThiago Santos. The two met in a 185-pound bout at UFC Brasilia back in September 2016 and Spicely needed less than three minutes to submit the striking specialist. He followed that with another first-round submission win over Alessio di Chirico before losing his next three fights and being released by the UFC earlier this year. Overall, Spicely went 2-4 inside the Octagon.

Regman has won four straight and is coming off of a first-round knockout win of recent Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series contestant Will Santiago at Legacy Fighting Alliance 49.

Also announced for CES 54 is a bantamweight title defense for champion Tony Gravely (16-5). He won a vacant title in November with a 36-second KO of Kody Nordby and will now face Kris Moutinho (7-2), who went 3-0 competing for CES this year.