Two welterweight fan favorites are set to meet in the nation’s capital.
A matchup between longtime UFC veterans Thiago Alves (23-14 MMA, 15-11 UFC) and Tim Means (28-11-1 MMA, 10-8 UFC) is set for the event, promotion officials announced Friday.
UFC on ESPN 7 takes place Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
At UFC 237 in May, Alves dropped an unanimous decision to Laureano Staropoli. He was then scheduled to fight Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 17 on Sept. 28. However, Alves was forced to pull out of the contest weeks prior due to injury.
Conversely, Means was on the receiving end of a wild, come-from-behind knockout by Niko Price at UFC on ESPN+ 4 in March. Prior to that, Means picked up a knockout victory of his own when he brutalized Ricky Rainey the TUF 28 Finale in December.
Both men are in dire need of a victory after having dropped three out of their most recent four outings.
With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 7 lineup now includes:
- Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris
- Yana Kunitskaya vs. Aspen Ladd
- Cynthia Calvillo vs. Claudia Gadelha
- Ben Rothwell vs. Stefan Struve
- Carlos Condit vs. Mickey Gall
- Thiago Alves vs. Tim Means
- Cortney Casey vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Joe Solecki vs. Matt Wiman
- Cody Stamann vs. Song Yadong
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Matt Sayles
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Trevor Smith
