Matheus Nicolau’s return to the UFC is back on schedule.
The flyweight fighter recently re-signed with the UFC only to see a Jan. 24 UFC 257 bout with Tagir Ulanbekov fall through when Ulanbekov withdrew for undisclosed reasons. On Tuesday, it was announced that Nicolau and Ulanbekov have been re-booked to fight one another in a flyweight bout on March 13 in Las Vegas.
Combate was first to report the new date.
Nicolau (15-2-1) got off to a promising start in his first four-fight run with the UFC back in 2015 after a stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4. He won his first three fights for the promotion, including a split decision win over one-time title challenger John Moraga, but was released in 2019 following a KO loss to Dustin Ortiz.
When Ulanbekov withdrew from their first meeting, officials attempted to find Nicolau a new opponent for UFC 257, but were unable to do so.
Ulanbekov made a successful UFC debut in October, defeating Bruno Silva by unanimous decision. He has won four straight fights and currently owns a 12-1 pro record.