Matt Brown gets home state matchup vs. Miguel Baeza at UFC Columbus

Matt Brown will fight in his home state for the first time in nearly six years.

Brown (22-16 MMA, 15-10 UFC) takes on Miguel Baeza (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 8. MMA Junkie verified the matchup following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

UFC on ESPN 8 takes place March 28 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The card airs on ESPN following early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

Brown returned after a one-year layoff due to injury in December and delivered a second-round knockout of Ben Saunders at UFC 245 for his second straight finish. It was the first time he had strung together consecutive wins since 2014.

Brown most recently fought in Ohio in May 2014 in the UFC Fight Night 40 main event against Erick Silva. He finished Silva with a third-round TKO to win a double bonus for “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night.”

Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Baeza scored his ticket to the UFC with a unanimous decision over Victor Reyna this past June. He made his official UFC debut in October and took out Hector Aldana at UFC on ESPN+ 19. He gets a big opportunity in March against veteran Brown.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 8 lineup now includes:

• Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Raphael Assuncao vs. Cody Garbrandt
• Yorgan De Castro vs. Greg Hardy
• Sam Alvey vs. Khalil Rountree
• Carlos Felipe vs. Jeff Hughes
• Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka
• Mizuki Inoue vs. Tecia Torres
• Randy Costa vs. Martin Day
• Punahele Soriano vs. Eric Spicely
• Aspen Ladd vs. Julianna Pena
• Miguel Baeza vs. Matt Brown