UFC star Javid Basharat is set to make his return to the octagon when he takes on Chris Gutierrez next month.
Basharat has not fought since his unanimous decision defeat to Aiemann Zahabi back in March, which was the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career.
His bout before that, against Victor Henry, ended as no contest after Basharat landed an accidental groin kick on his opponent.
However, he will finally get the opportunity to return to winning ways when he takes on Gutierrez on August 3rd in a highly-anticipated UFC Abu Dhabi card.
Basharat had previously enjoyed a three fight win-streak in the UFC after making his debut in March 2022, before the last two bouts put an end to that.
Javid Basharat (left) will make his return to the UFC to take on Chris Gutierrez in August
Gutierrez suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Song Yadong in his last UFC outing
Gutierrez, meanwhile, also lost in his last UFC bout – which was a unanimous decision loss to Song Yadong.
The night will be headlined by a pivotal clash in the bantamweight division as American Cory Sandhagen takes on undefeated Russian Umar Nurmagomedov.
Both fighters will be familiar to the Abu Dhabi fans having fought in the Emirate previously.
No.2 ranked Sandhagen has fought on Yas Island twice – picking up bonuses on both occasions – firstly a performance of the night in defeating Marlon Moraes in 2020, followed up with a fight of the night for his battle with Petr Yan for the interim bantamweight title a year later.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile (17-0), has gone on to win four fight after an impressive win in his UFC debut and is considered one of the rising stars in the 135lbs class.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yahya – the first Emirati to compete in the UFC – will also make his return to the octagon on August 3rd to take on Brazilian Kaue Fernandes.
Yahya made history last year when he signed with the world’s largest mixed martial arts organisation and debuted in the UAE capital in October