Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is set to return to the UFC for the first time in two years as he’s scheduled to fight Phil Davis in a light-heavyweight bout at UFC 172.
UFC president Dana White made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter.
Johnson (16-4) was cut by the promotion following a UFC 142 submission loss to Vitor Belfort in Brazil. The bout was originally scheduled to be a middleweight contest (186-pound limit for non-title fights) but Johnson stepped on the scale at 197 pounds. Johnson compiled a 7-4 record in the UFC—primarily competing in the welterweight division—however he consistently struggled to make weight.
Since he made the decision to fight in higher weight classes, the 29-year-old has won six straight fights outside the UFC, including victories over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, former Strikeforce star Mike Kyle, plus UFC veterans Jake Rosholt and David Branch.
Davis (12-1, 1 NC) has won three straight, including a unanimous decision over former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 163 last August. He also has wins over Alexander Gustafsson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
UFC 172 takes place April 26 in Baltimore and is headlined by a light-heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.
The winner of Johnson-Davis could potentially earn a title shot with an impressive showing.
In other UFC 172 news…
— A middleweight bout between former Stirkeforce champion Luke Rockhold and Tim Boetsch has been added to the event. Rockhold (11-2) is coming off a TKO win over Costa Philippou in January, while Boetsch (17–6) edged C.B. Dollaway in a controversial decision at UFC 166 in October in his last outing.
— Former flyweight title challenger Joseph Benvidez will fight Tim Elliott. Benvidez looks to bounce back from a knockout loss to Demetrious Johnson in December.
— Max Holloway and Andre Fili will fight in a dynamic featherweight matchup.
— Joe Ellenberger, brother of UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger, will make his UFC debut against Yancy Medeiros. Jake was already set to take on Tarec Saffiedine at the event.
— A women’s bantamweight tilt between Jessamyn Duke and Bethe Correia is also on the card.
