Anthony Birchak will set foot in the octagon for the first time since July 2016 at UFC on ESPN+ 40 on Saturday.
Birchak (16-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is set to replace Felipe Colares, who was pulled from the card after a positive COVID-19 test, against Gustavo Lopez (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a bantamweight matchup.
MMA Junkie verified the news with multiple people close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement. Fansided first reported the news.
Birchak, 34, parted ways with the UFC more than four years after splitting results over four fights. He’s since fought for Rizin FF, Combate Americas and LFA, and has won three-straight leading into his octagon comeback.
Lopez will attempt to log his first UFC victory. He dropped his promotional debut against Merab Dvalishvili on short notice at UFC on ESPN 10 in June.
UFC on ESPN+ 40 takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card is set to stream on ESPN+.
Birchak’s addition to UFC on ESPN+ 40 finalizes the 11-fight lineup, which can be seen below:
MAIN CARD (ESPN2, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
- Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Khalid Taha
- Brendan Allen vs. Ian Heinisch
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Trevin Giles vs. Bevon Lewis
- Giga Chikadze vs. Jamey Simmons
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Alexandr Romanov
- Darren Elkins vs. Eduardo Garagorri
- Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Max Griffin
- Anthony Birchak Gustavo Lopez
Anthony Birchak’s UFC return vs. Gustavo Lopez finalizes UFC on ESPN+ 40 lineup
