Renan Barao (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Renan Barao will return to the Octagon tonight, for the first time since he lost the bantamweight title in May, but instead of facing TJ Dillashaw he’ll take on the lower ranked, Mitch Gagnon.

Barao was forced to withdraw from his immediate rematch with the champion Dillashaw in August, after encountering medical issues during his weight cut. Since then, Dominick Cruz has locked up a title fight by taking out Takeya Mizugaki, and Barao was booked to fight Gagnon at UFC FN 58.

Although the latter is ranked #14, and hasn’t defeated any top ranked contenders just yet, Barao is expecting a tough fight. While speaking to UFC.com recently about tonight’s match-up, Barao had this to say about the Canadian fighter:

“He’s not a famous fighter and I didn’t really know him before, but he’s a tough guy, and he has many strengths in his game, so I need to be ready for Saturday.”

Gagnon is riding a four fight winning streak, and the noted grappler has scored submissions in three of them.

Barao, meanwhile, had gone undefeated in 33 bout, prior to his stoppage loss to Dillashaw at UFC 173.

UFC FN 58 will take place in Barueri, Brazil, and in the main event, Lyoto Machida will battle fellow middleweight contender, CB Dollaway.