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Anthony Birchak’s UFC return vs. Gustavo Lopez finalizes UFC on ESPN+ 40 lineup

Anthony Birchak will set foot in the octagon for the first time since July 2016 at UFC on ESPN+ 40 on Saturday.

Birchak (16-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) is set to replace Felipe Colares, who was pulled from the card after a positive COVID-19 test, against Gustavo Lopez (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a bantamweight matchup.

MMA Junkie verified the news with sources close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement. Fansided first reported the news.

Birchak, 34, parted ways with the UFC more than four years after splitting results over four fights. He’s since fought for Rizin FF, Combate Americas and LFA, and has won three-straight leading into his octagon comeback.

Lopez will attempt to log his first UFC victory. He dropped his promotional debut against Merab Dvalishvili on short notice at UFC on ESPN 10 in June.

UFC on ESPN+ 40 takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card is set to stream on ESPN+.

Birchak’s addition to UFC on ESPN+ 40 finalizes the 11-fight lineup, which can be seen below:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Tanner Boser
  • Raoni Barcelos vs. Khalid Taha
  • Brendan Allen vs. Ian Heinisch
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Yan Xiaonan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

  • Trevin Giles vs. Bevon Lewis
  • Giga Chikadze vs. Jamey Simmons
  • Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Darren Elkins vs. Eduardo Garagorri
  • Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Max Griffin
  • Anthony Birchak Gustavo Lopez

UFC free fight: Charles Oliveira rallies to light up Michael Chandler for first title win

Charles Oliveira proved he had championship mettle when he battled through some early adversity against Michael Chandler. Oliveira faced Chandler for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 262 in May 2021. It took “Do Bronx” 28 octagon appearances to earn his first-career title shot. Round...

Javier Mendez disagrees with Daniel Cormier’s claim that Islam Makhachev more dangerous than Khabib Nurmagomedov

For Javier Mendez, Islam Makhachev is more skilled than Khabib Nurmagomedov but not more dangerous. Daniel Cormier, who also trained under Mendez at American Kickboxing Academy, said UFC lightweight champion Makhachev is even more dangerous than former champ Nurmagomedov was during his prime. Mendez heavily disagrees. “OK, he’s more...

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