Alex Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title for the third time at UFC 272 against a familiar face in top contender Max Holloway.
The bout was one of two title fights added to the March 5 card in Las Vegas, as bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling rematches interim titleholder Petr Yan.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the matchups to ESPN on Wednesday.
Volkanovski and Holloway first met at UFC 245 in December 2019, when then-champion Holloway lost the title to Volkanovski by unanimous decision.
After a close first fight, the pair would meet again seven months later but history would repeat itself as Volkanovski edged a close split-decision at UFC 251.
Volkanovksi then took a year out from the cage after battling Covid-19, but returned at UFC 266 last September to defend his belt against Brian Ortega.
The Australian fought off several submission attempts from the talented grappler Ortega and out-struck his opponent to win a lop-sided unanimous decision.
Holloway earned himself another shot at the 145lb title after picking up wins against Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez last year, both of which earned him $50,000 bonuses.
He broke a UFC record for the most strikes attempted and landed in his win against Kattar, also boasting he was the "best boxer in the UFC" whilst doing so.
In the co-main event at UFC 272, bantamweight champion Sterling will return to the cage to rematch Yan following their controversial fight last March.
Yan looked to be on his way to defending his title for the first time, but landed an illegal knee in the fourth round that left Sterling unable to continue.
Sterling was declared the winner after Yan was disqualified and a rematch between the pair has been sought ever since, but a neck injury has delayed Sterling from competing.
Who wins at UFC 272, Volkanovski or Holloway? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
Yan returned to the cage at UFC 267 last October when he won the interim title against top contender Cory Sandhagen in a Fight of the Year contender.
Fans have been critical of Sterling due to how he won the title with Yan labelling him a "sneaky coward" after their first fight.
Sterling has continued his rivalry with Yan by recently accusing the Russian of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
"For the record, I do not think every Russian fighter or athlete cheats. Just like every American, Brazilian, Chinese, or any other nationality of athletes, you have the clean and dirty ones," he wrote on Twitter.
"Personally I think Cheotr Yan is a dirty cheat. Maybe I’m wrong but I highly doubt it.”
