Emmett to return from knee injury vs. Ige at UFC 269

A top-10 featherweight who's been out of action since June 2020 is finally set to return to the Octagon.

Josh Emmett has been booked to face Dan Ige at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas, both fighters confirmed to ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

Emmett, ranked No. 7 at 145 pounds, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Shane Burgos in a "Fight of the Year" candidate 16 months ago. The Team Alpha Male product suffered a complete ACL tear and partial MCL tear early on in that bout but still made it to the end. Emmett is riding a three-fight winning streak and is 5-1 over his past six outings.

Ige, the ninth-ranked contender, is looking to return to the win column after dropping a unanimous decision to Chan Sung Jung in a UFC main event in June. The 30-year-old is 1-2 in his past three fights but had won six in a row before the slump.

The stacked UFC 269 card is set to feature a lightweight title fight between champion Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. Additionally, Amanda Nunes will defend her women's bantamweight belt against Julianna Pena in the co-headliner.