Walt Harris returns against Josh Parisian at July 15 UFC event

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris is set to return after a two-year layoff.

Harris (13-10 MMA, 6-8 UFC) meets Josh Parisian (15-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) at a UFC event on July 15. Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL was first to report the news.

Harris, who’s been training with UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, will look to snap a three-fight skid. The 39-year-old was stopped in his past three outings by Alistair Overeem, Alexander Volkov, and most recently Marcin Tybura in June 2021. Harris’ last win was a 12-second knockout of Aleksei Oleinik in July 2019.

Parisian has split his past six appearances. The 33-year-old, who punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020, is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jamal Pogues in February. Prior to that, Parisian scored a Performance of the Night TKO of Alan Baudot at UFC on ESPN 38.

With the addition, the July 15 lineup includes:

• Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian
• Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam