Ex-UFC Champion Set to Return From Massive Layoff for Banger UFC 335 Fight

A former UFC titleholder is set to return for the first time in well over a year and a half for a huge fight at UFC 335.

Scheduled to take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, UFC 335 will officially close out the UFC’s 2026 schedule before the promotion opens next year with a UFC Fight Night event in Dallas, TX on January 16.

In the night’s main event, former lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira will attempt to defend his “BMF” belt for the first time when he takes on two-time featherweight title challenger Diego Lopes.

UFC 335 Includes Major Stars & Former UFC Champions

As would be expected from a major numbered event and the promotion’s final card of the year, UFC 335 already features a number of other high-profile matchups and a couple of former UFC champions.

Alex Pereira (red gloves) looks on prior to his fight against Ciryl Gane (not pictured) during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Former two-division UFC titleholder Alex Pereira makes his second heavyweight appearance in the night’s main event against Sergei Pavlovich, and the UFC 335 main card will also see two-time UFC Flyweight Champion Brandon Moreno try to work back towards title contention when he meets Charles Johnson.

Brandon Moreno (left) and Joseph Morales fight during Noche UFC at Desert Diamond Arena. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

First reported by Dvoyechka before it was later confirmed by Heavy.com, UFC 335 will also see former Interim UFC Featherweight Champion Yair Rodriguez make his first appearance of the year against top contender Steve Garcia.

Yair Rodriguez Set to End Lengthy Layoff at UFC 335

After joining the UFC off Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, Rodriguez put together an unbeaten start to his time with the UFC before running into future UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar at UFC 211.

Yair Rodriguez (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Josh Emmett (not pictured) to win the interim featherweight championship during UFC 284 at RAC Arena. | USA TODAY Sports

“El Pantera” eventually fought his way back into title contention and received his first crack at UFC gold in the co-main event of UFC 284, where he submitted Josh Emmett to claim the promotion’s interim featherweight belt.

Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) fights Yair Rodriguez (blue gloves) during UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

After falling to Alexander Volkanovski in a title unification bout and suffering a submission loss in a rematch with Brian Ortega for the first back-to-back losses of his career, Rodriguez welcomed Patricio Pitbull to the UFC in April of last year and defeated the former Bellator star via unanimous decision.

Steve Garcia Brought Seven-Fight Win Streak into UFC Freedom 250

Rodriguez was originally slated to headline Noche UFC opposite Jean Silva in September before withdrawing with an injury, and the UFC 335 matchup with Garcia will see the Mexican star return to action more than a year and a half after his win over Pitbull.

Shayilan Nuerdanbieke (red gloves) fights Steve Garcia (blue gloves) during UFC 287 at Miami-Dade Arena. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Following an underwhelming 1-2 start to his UFC career, a first-round knockout over Chase Hooper in 2022 kicked off what eventually turned into an impressive seven-fight win streak for Garcia.

Steve Garcia (blue gloves) fights Diego Lopes (red gloves) during UFC Freedom 250 at White House South Lawn. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All but one of the victories during that stretch came via knockout, but “Mean Machine” saw his winning run come to an end in June at UFC Freedom 250 when he was knocked out by UFC 335 headliner Lopes.

UFC 335 Fight Card

Main Event: Charles Oliveira vs. Diego Lopes – For the UFC “BMF” Championship

Co-Main Event: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alex Pereira

Brandon Moreno vs. Charles Johnson

Yair Rodriguez vs. Steve Garcia

Junior Tafa vs. Quentin Pasley

Chris Padilla vs. Chase Hooper

Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Ronald Humphrey

Nilson Rojas vs. Roque Conceição

Angela Hill vs. Shanelle Dyer

Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Michelle Montague

Baisangur Susurkaev vs. Damian Pinas

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