Former champ Renan Barao returns at UFC on Fox in Orlando, Florida

The lineup for UFC on Fox 28, which goes down on February 24 in Orlando, Florida, has grown by one interesting bantamweight scrap, as former champion Renan Barao is scheduled to return to action on the card. Barao’s opponent in this fight will be Brian Kelleher. 

This bout was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

Though he once stood out as the world’s best bantamweight, Renan Barao has fallen on tough times of late. After losing the title to TJ Dillashaw in a massive 2014 upset, the Brazilian defeated Mitch Gagnon. From there, he succumbed to another TJ Dillashaw knockout, lost a decision against Jeremy Stephens, defeated Philippe Nover by decision, and most recently, lost a decision to Aljamain Sterling. Once the owner of one of MMA’s best records, he’s now a less impressive 34-5 overall.

Kelleher, meanwhile, is 18-8 overall. A veteran of the Bellator and CES MMA cages, the New Yorker has gone 2-1 since joining the UFC roster in March of 2017, sandwiching a submission loss to Marlon “Chito” Vera between stoppages of Iuri Alcantara and Damian Stasiak.

The UFC’s return to Orlando will also feature a welterweight scrap between “Platinum” Mike Perry and Max Griffin, we learned yesterday.

I have confirmed that Mike Perry vs. Max Griffin is set for #UFCOrlando on February 24

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) January 8, 2018

The card will also feature a middleweight scrap between ranked contenders Yoel Romero and David Branch, a strawweight contender bout between Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres, a welterweight scrap between Alan Jouban and Ben Saunders, a lightweight bout between Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Gilbert Burns, and a light heavyweight bout between Marcin Prachnio and Sam Alvey, who replaces Jake Collier.

Do you think Renan Barao will get back to winning ways against Brian Kelleher in Orlando this February?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/9/2018.