Sean O’Malley, Tyron Woodley fights official for UFC 260

Sean O’Malley and Tyron Woodley are both officially scheduled to return to the Octagon at UFC 260 on March 27.

O’Malley, a promising prospect in the 135-pound bantamweight division, will make his return to the cage against Brazilian striking specialist Thomas Almeida. Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, will return to action against rising contender Vicente Luque.

Both fights were previously reported by various outlets, but have now been made official by the promotion.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1362794314061910016

Sean O’Malley has not fought since UFC 252 in August, when he was defeated by Marlon Vera via first-round TKO. That was his first taste of defeat after a perfect 12-0 run to start his professional mixed martial arts career.

Prior to losing to Vera, O’Malley was riding the momentum of Octagon triumphs over Eddie Wineland, Jose Alberto Quiñonez, Andre Soukhamthath and Terrion Ware. He earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, with a first-round knockout of Alfred Khashakyan.

Like O’Malley, Tyron Woodley will be desperate for a win at UFC 260, having lost his last three fights. In his last outing, Woodley was defeated by his long-time nemesis Colby Covington via fifth-round TKO. That setback was preceded by a decision loss to recent title challenger Gilbert Burns, and a decision loss to Kamaru Usman, which marked the end of his reign as the UFC welterweight champion. Over the course of his illustrious career, he’s beaten top-flight foes like Darren Till, Demian Maia, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Robbie Lawler, Kelvin Gastelum, Dong Hyun Kim, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck, Paul Daley and Tarec Saffiedine.

UFC 260 will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between dominating champion Stipe Miocic and ferocious knockout puncher Francis Ngannou. It will also feature a featherweight title fight between champion Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Brian Ortega.

See how UFC 260 is looking with the addition of these O’Malley and Woodley fights below:

• 265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
• 145 lbs.: UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega
• 185 lbs.: Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute
• 205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
• 135 lbs.: Sean O’Malley vs. Thomas Almeida
• 125 lbs.: Jessica Penne vs. Hannah Goldy
• 170 lbs.: Tyron Woodley vs. Vicente Luque
• 265 lbs.: Marcin Tybura vs. Blagoy Ivanov
• 185 lbs.: Abu Azaitar vs. Marc-Andre Barriault