An interim bantamweight title bout between Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland is set to be the co-main event for UFC 165 in Toronto on Sept. 21, UFC Canada confirmed through its Twitter account Wednesday night.
The matchup was originally scheduled to be the main event at UFC 161 in Winnipeg in June, but Barao was forced to withdraw from the event due to a foot injury he sustained in training.
Barao (30-1, 1 NC) last fought in February when he picked up a fourth-round submission win over Michael McDonald at UFC on FUEL TV 7 in London.
The Brazilian won the interim belt last July at UFC 149 in Calgary after beating Urijah Faber by unanimous decision. Barao has not lost since his mixed martial arts debut in 2005.
Wineland (20–8–1) is on a two-fight win streak, coming off a decision win over Brad Pickett in December and a knockout of Scott Jorgensen last June. Wineland was the first ever WEC bantamweight champ and is regarded as one of the best strikers in the 135-pound division.
This will be the second time Barao will defend the interim belt, which was created because champion Dominick Cruz has been battling knee injuries for upwards of two years.
Cruz hasn’t fought since beating Demetrious Johnson (prior to Johnson becoming the UFC flyweight champion) in October 2011. The 28-year-old has had multiple surgeries to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and there is no word on when he could return to action.
The event, which will be the fourth UFC event Toronto has hosted since April 2011, is scheduled to be headlined by a light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.
Earlier in the day it was revealed Canadians Mark Bocek and Chris Clements are set to take on Michel Prazeres and Stephen Thompson, respectively, in what will presumably be preliminary bouts.