Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira will headline the UFC 281 card with the middleweight title on the line at Madison Square Garden on November 12.
The New Zealander and the Brazilian share a well-known history with Pereira the only person in the world to have beaten Adesanya twice.
But those wins came in kickboxing bouts under the GLORY Kickboxing banner with Adesanya then going on to have a storied career in UFC, becoming arguably their best middleweight ever.
Pereira who has joined the same promotion was called out by Adesanya following his successful title defense in the main event at UFC 276 last month. The middleweight champion defeated Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision at UFC 276, while Pereira also earned a victory over Sean Strickland by knockout on the undercard.
If Pereira can defeat Adesanya at UFC 281 at middleweight he will become the first fighter to do so as Adesanya owns a 23-1 record, with his lone loss coming against Jan Błachowicz in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 259.
The Brazilian, meanwhile, has been impressive since his debut as well holding a 3-0 record since debuting in the UFC with a TKO win against Andreas Michailidis in November 2021.
The UFC 281 card is shaping up nicely for the promotion with reports that a lightweight fight between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler is also reportedly close to being finalized.