Rashad Evans returns against Gabriel Checco at Eagle FC 44 on Jan. 28

Rashad Evans will return to action for the first time in over three years.

Evans (19-8-1) will come out of retirement to face Gabriel Checco (12-5) at Eagle FC 44, which takes place Jan. 28 at FLXcast Arena in Miami and streams live on the FLXcast app.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by ESPN.

Evans, 42, hung up his gloves after suffering five straight defeats in the UFC. In his final octagon bout in June 2018, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and “The Ultimate Fighter 2” winner was knocked out by Anthony Smith in the first round at UFC 225. He announced his retirement two weeks after and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019.

Winner of two of his past three, Brazil’s Checco is coming off a first-round TKO of Simon Marini at XMMA 3 in October. The 35-year-old has been keeping busy with an array of grappling matches, submitting the likes of former UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger, UFC light heavyweight Danilo Marques and current Bellator title challenger Austin Vanderford.

With the addition to the card, the Eagle FC 44 lineup now includes:

• Tyrone Spong vs. Sergei Kharitonov
• Gabriel Checco vs. Rashad Evans
• Ray Borg vs. Cody Gibson
• Renan Barao vs. Horacio Gutierrez
• Ramazan Kuramagomedov vs. John Howard
• Miles Hunsinger vs. Demarques Jackson