Francisco Figueiredo won’t be making his return to the octagon in May after all.
The older brother of UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo has agreed to face Malcolm Gordon at the July 17 UFC Fight Night card, multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting. Combate first reported the change.
The UFC has yet to announce the location and headlining attraction for the Fight Night event.
Figueiredo was originally scheduled to face Jimmy Flick on May 8, but J.P. Buys stepped in after Flick’s surprising retirement. It’s still unclear what led to Buys’ withdrawal from the card.
The Brazilian flyweight, 12-3-1-1 as a professional, first entered the octagon in January for his first MMA bout in 14 months, defeating Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi.
Gordon (12-5) gets another shot under the UFC banner after a 0-2 start in the company in 2020, losing a pair of first-round stoppages to Amir Albazi and Su Mudaerji. Gordon was the TKO flyweight king in his native Canada prior to signing with the UFC this past year.