Ngannou-Velasquez Finalized For UFC On ESPN In February

Cain Velasquez will be retuning to the octagon for the first time in two years.

UFC announced that Velasquez will take on Francis Ngannou on a UFC on ESPN show on February 17, 2019 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Velasquez is BACK!@CainMMA returns to face @Francis_Ngannou in the main event at #UFCPhoenix Feb. 17 on @ESPN! pic.twitter.com/TUsrLNc6r5

— UFC (@ufc) December 26, 2018

Velasquez, a former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, has not fought since UFC 200 back in 2016. In that fight, Velasquez scored a first-round TKO victory over Travis Browne. Velasquez had been dealing with a number of injuries for years and has only fought twice since late 2013.

Ngannou, a former heavyweight title challenger, most recently ended a two-fight losing streak back in late November when he finished Curtis Blaydes in 45 seconds at a UFC show in Beijing. Despite losing two of his last three bouts, Ngannou is currently ranked No. 3 in the UFC heavyweight rankings. Ngannou unsuccessfully challenged for the UFC title against Stipe Miocic back in January.