Michel Prazeres Returns From Suspension Against Shavkat Rakhmonov on June 26 UFC Card

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After over two years away, Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Michel Prazeres is ready to get back in action.

Late Thursday night, Georgian outlet Ag. Fight reported that Prazeres (26-3) was gearing up to make his return to the Octagon on June 26. The unnumbered UFC Fight Night event on this date does not currently have a headliner, location or venue established, as it could take place in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas or elsewhere depending on the status of the coronavirus pandemic. On this card, he will be squaring off with unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov (13-0) in the welterweight division. The matchup has since been confirmed by multiple outlets as well as Rakhmonov himself on his Instagram.

Prazeres was suspended in 2020 for failed drug tests the previous year, with his results showing the anabolic steroid boldenone and its metabolites in multiple tests. His two-year suspension was dated retroactively to the date of his tests, putting him on the shelf officially from March 2019 to March 2021. The test came after a decision loss to Ismail Naurdiev at UFC Fight Night 145, which snapped an eight-fight win streak he had amassed from 2015 to 2019. Along the way, the Brazilian defeated the likes of Gilbert Burns, Zak Cummings and Desmond Green.

Kazakhstan’s Rakhmonov made a statement in his UFC debut at UFC 254 in October 2020, where he tapped the durable Alex Oliveira in the opening frame. Before joining the promotion, “Nomad” captured and defended the M-1 Challenge welterweight throne in 2019, knocking out Tiago Varejao Lacerda to put the UFC on notice. All 13 of Rakhmonov’s victories have come by stoppage, with a nearly equal number of knockouts compared to submissions.