The UFC has added a marquee featherweight matchup between former champion Jose Aldo and Renato Moicano to its UFC Fight Night on Feb. 2 in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Officials confirmed the 145-pound contest on Friday, following an initial report by MMAJunkie. UFC Fight Night will take place at CFO Arena and air on ESPN+.
Aldo (27-4) is coming off a knockout win against Jeremy Stephens in July. It was the Brazilian’s first victory since he outpointed Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 in July 2016.
Prior to beating Stephens, Aldo was 0-2 in his last two fights — both of which came against current champ Max Holloway. Aldo, 32, is 2-3 in his last five matches, but remains on the cusp of title contention at 145 pounds.
Moicano (13-1-1), of Brasilia, Brazil, is one of the up-and-comers of the division. He is 5-1 since signing with the UFC in 2016, with wins over Cub Swanson, Calvin Kattar and Stephens.
Fighting out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, Moicano was pegged as a backup for a featherweight title fight between Holloway and Brian Ortega at UFC 231 earlier this month, but failed to make championship weight. It was a potentially embarrassing moment for the 29-year-old, but did not cost him much in terms of rank.
ESPN.com ranks Aldo and Moicano the Nos. 3 and 5 featherweights in the world, respectively.
A bantamweight fight between Marlon Moraes (21-5-1) and Raphael Assuncao (27-5) is scheduled to headline the Feb. 2 event.