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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
The UFC has booked a bantamweight headliner between former champions Petr Yan and Deiveson Figueiredo for an event in China on Nov. 23.
Yan (17-5) will face Figueiredo (24-3-1) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Macau, the promotion announced Wednesday. The event will take place at Galaxy Arena and will mark the UFC’s first trip to China since August 2019.
Yan, of Russia, will return for the first time since ACL surgery in March. The former champion surrendered his title to Aljamain Sterling in a rare loss by disqualification in 2021. He lost three in a row from April 2022 to March 2023, before rebounding with a much-needed win over Song Yadong in March.
Figueiredo is a former flyweight champion who moved up to 135 pounds in late 2023. He is 3-0 since the move, with wins over Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt and Marlon Vera.
Yan and Figueiredo are the No. 3- and No. 5-ranked bantamweights in the UFC, respectively.
In addition to the main event, the UFC announced key matchups on the card that include No. 2-ranked women’s strawweight Yan Xiaonan against No. 9-ranked Tabatha Ricci, as well as No. 6-ranked light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir against No. 10-ranked Carlos Ulberg.