After nearly two years on the sidelines, Blagoy
Ivanov will return to the Octagon to face Marcos
Rogerio de Lima at
UFC 274.
De Lima confirmed the heavyweight booking on social media following
an initial report from
BJPenn.com. UFC 274 takes place at an as yet to be announced
location and features a pair of title bouts at the top of the card:
Glover
Teixeira vs. Jiri
Prochazka at light heavyweight and Charles
Oliveira vs. Justin
Gaethje at lightweight.
A former World Series of Fighting Champion, Ivanov hasn’t competed
since a split-decision defeat against Augusto
Sakai at UFC on ESPN 9 in May 2020. The Bulgarian heavyweight
is 2-3 in UFC competition, with victories over Tai Tuivasa
and Ben
Rothwell. His 18-4 career mark includes a 6-1 stint in Bellator
MMA.
De Lima, meanwhile, has been victorious in three of his last four
Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 36-year-old Brazilian
stopped Rothwell via TKO in 32 seconds at UFC Fight Night 197 this
past November. The American Top Team representative is 8-5 in UFC
competition and 19-7 as a professional overall.