More than 14 months after his most recent appearance, an upset knockout loss to Johnny Eduardo, Eddie Wineland will return to the Octagon opposite Bryan Caraway.
MMA Fighting reported the bantamweight matchup on Friday.
Wineland‘s stunning defeat against Eduardo was deflating. However, only two bouts removed from a 135-pound championship bout against Renan Barao, he still has the ability to compete with some of the best bantamweights in the world.
In that loss to Eduardo, Wineland suffered a broken jaw that required a long recovery. There was some speculation that it could lead to Wineland‘s retirement, but he quickly made it clear in an interview with MMA Junkie that calling it quits was not part of the plan.
Personally, I don’t want to walk away. Fighting is who I am. I love to fight. My plan was to fight until I’m about 34 years old and live a comfortable life after that. … No way in hell would I ever to chose to walk away on those terms.
Now 30 years old, Wineland should still have some gas left in the tank. However, in order to remain in the hunt for another title shot, he’ll need to get back into the win column against Caraway.
Following back-to-back submission victories, Caraway was bested by Raphael Assuncao in his latest trip to the Octagon. Had he won, Caraway would have been considered one of the top contenders in the bantamweight division, but he’ll now have to rebound against Wineland in order to get another crack at a top-five opponent.
Wineland and Caraway will clash at UFC on Fox 16, which will take place on July 25 in Chicago. The event is headlined by a bantamweight title fight between T.J. Dillashaw and Barao, but bout order for the remaining contests has not been determined.
Figuring to be one of the more highly anticipated matchups on the bill, Wineland and Caraway could end up on the main card or at least end up in the featured prelim bout.
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