According to a report from Nolan King that's since been verified by Farah Hannoun and MMA Junkie, Mirsad Bektic's year-long layoff is set to end.
Scheduled to fight Josh Emmett on July 13th, Bektic (13-1) will look to make it three straight in his octagon return. Bektic entered the UFC undefeated and remained that way through five UFC appearances. However, he then suffered his first professional defeat, falling victim to a memorable stoppage defeat opposite Darren Elkins. Since then though, Elkins has rebounded, scoring two straight wins including most recently, a split decision victory over longtime contender Ricardo Lamas. He's currently ranked 9th in the UFC's official Featherweight standings.
On the other hand, Emmett (14-2) has recently ended a year-long layoff of his own. Winning 5 of his 7 octagon appearances, Emmett's #8 ranking is understandable, most notably knocking out the aforementioned Lamas in the very first round. However, his momentum was then halted, suffering a similar fate opposite revered knockout artist Jeremy Stephens. Nonetheless, Emmett returned to the win column in his first attempt, memorably knocking out Michael Johnson at UFC Fight Night Philadelphia.
UFC Fight Night Sacramento takes place on July 13th at the Golden 1 Center and will air on ESPN+. The full card can be found below:
Urijah Faber vs. Ricky Simon
Mirsad Bektic vs. Josh Emmett
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Livinha Souza
Darren Elkins vs. Ryan Hall
Sara McMann vs. Nicco Montano
Cezar Ferreira vs. Marvin Vettori
Beneil Dariush vs. Drakkar Klose
Martin Day vs. Benito Lopez
Karl Roberson vs. John Phillips
