A welterweight division attraction has been added to UFC Fight Night St. Petersburg according to MMA Betz (via Farah Hannoun) as Alexander Yakovlev is in action against Teemu Packalen.
Yakovlev (23-8-1) will enter the contest while in the midst of a two fight losing streak, dropping bouts to the duo of Kamaru Usman and Zak Cummings. Yakovlev is also returning to action for the first time in two years, with his last bout happening in November of 2016. Yakovlev has suffered eight losses as a professional MMA fighter, but he has yet to be beaten by way of KO/TKO.
Packalen (8-2-0) has won just one of three bouts under the UFC banner, with that lone victory coming over Thibault Gouti at UFC Fight Night 84. Packalen is going to be competing for the first time in over two years, with his last fight happening in March of 2017. Packalen has competed ten times as a professional MMA fighter and only one of his bouts went the distance.
UFC Fight Night St. Petersburg takes place on Saturday, April 20 from the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia with Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.