Machida returns to face Brunson in UFC Sao Paulo closer
Lyoto Machida's return to the Octagon will go down in familiar territory.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion will come back from an 18-month USADA-sanctioned suspension to meet Derek Brunson in the middleweight main event of UFC Fight Night 119 on Oct. 28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The promotion announced the matchup Monday.
Machida makes his first walk to the cage in over two years, just 20 days after his penance expires. The Brazilian was pulled from a rematch with Dan Henderson and banned by the UFC's anti-doping partner after admitting to taking banned substance 7-Keto-DHEA in April 2016. He's coming off back-to-back stoppage losses to Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero.
After seeing a five-fight win streak halted by Robert Whittaker and dropping a controversial decision to Anderson Silva, the 33-year-old Brunson emphatically returned to the win column at UFC Fight Night 110, where he dispatched Dan Kelly by KO in 76 seconds. He sits in the seventh spot of the promotion's middleweight rankings.