Your eyes are not deceiving you! Matt Wiman is returning to UFC competition soon.
Matt Wiman is still on the UFC roster, and he’s going to be fighting next month.
The longtime lightweight veteran is going to face off Luis Pena at UFC Greenville on June 22nd, per Greenville Online. It is Wiman’s first fight since November 2014, which was so long ago that Pena hadn’t even made his professional MMA debut yet.
Wiman (16-7) bested Isaac Vallie-Flagg by decision back at UFC San Antonio nearly five years ago. The Ultimate Fighter season 5 cast member was then expected to fight Leo Santos in March of 2015, but withdrew due to a back injury and we’ve not heard a word about him up until this writing. Wiman has won four Fight of the Night awards and had a Submission of the Night (back when those existed) when he armbarred Paul Sass.
Pena (6-1), better known as “Violent Bob Ross,” is heading back to 155 lbs after an ill-conceived attempt to make the featherweight limit. The Ultimate Fighter 27 alum rebounded from his loss to Jay Trizano by winning a decision over Steven Peterson this past March, but he did miss weight by 2.5 lbs. The 25-year-old prospect’s other UFC victory came by submission against Richie Smullen.
UFC Greenville is headlined by a five-round featherweight bout between Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie,” and Renato Moicano. ESPN+ will live stream the entire card.