Welterweight Ben Saunders is returning to the UFC after being away for several years and his return to the promotion will be in two weeks as he meets Chris Heatherly at UFC Fight Night 49 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The fight booking was announced by the UFC on Monday.
UFC Fight Night 49 will come from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 23rd and will be headlined by a lightweight bout as former champion Benson Henderson meets Rafael dos Anjos.
Saunders (16-6-2) has been out of the UFC since 2010 and has gone 8-3 outside of the UFC. His last fight came in September of last year as he was defeated by Douglas Lima in the Bellator season eight welterweight tournament final. Shortly after the defeat, he asked for his release from Bellator and his request was granted.
Heatherly (8-1, 1NC) comes to the UFC from RFA and he is unbeaten in his last four fights. He is coming off a submission win at RFA 16 against Josh Cavan and his only career defeat came against current UFC welterweight Alex Garcia.
The current UFC Fight Night 49: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos fight card lineup is below.
Main Card: (Fox Sports 1 – 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT)
Benson Henderson (21-3) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (21-7)
Jordan Mein (28-9) vs. Mike Pyle (26-9-1)
Francis Carmont (22-9) vs. Thales Leites (23-4)
Max Holloway (9-3) vs. Mirsad Bektic (8-0)
James Vick (5-0) vs. Walmir Lazaro (12-2)
Chas Skelly (11-1) vs. Tom Niinimaki (21-6-1)
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1 – 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT)
Neil Magny (11-3) vs. Alex Garcia (12-1)
Tim Elliott (10-5-1) vs. Wilson Reis (17-5)
Beneil Dariush (7-1) vs. Tony Martin (8-1)
Ben Saunders (16-6-2) vs. Chris Heatherly (8-1, 1NC)