Kiwi UFC competitor Dylan Andrews will make his long-awaited return to the octagon when he meets American Sam Alvey at UFC Fight Night 55 in Sydney on November 8.
The Gold Coast-based Andrews has been on the shelf since he threw his shoulder out and suffered a TKO loss against Clint Hester at UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane late last year, which ended his six-fight winning streak.
Andrews (17-5, 1NC) flirted with a drop to welterweight on his return but has decided to stay at middleweight for his meeting with Alvey (23-6, 1NC).
Kiwi-born fighter Robert Whittaker (12-4), who scored a decision victory over Mike Rhodes at UFC Fight Night 43 in Auckland in June, will move up from welterweight to middleweight in November and meet Hester.
The Sydney show will be headlined by a five-round middleweight stoush between title contenders Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold.
The pair have been embroiled in a war of words during the past couple of months and the main event should be an explosive contest.
Seven fights were announced for the card today with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Kiwi heavyweight Mark Hunt (9-8-1) has expressed an interest in being on the card if he comes through his main event bout against Roy Nelson at UFC Fight Night 52 in Japan on September 20 without any injuries.
Auckland featherweight Dan Hooker (11-4), who will meet Maximo Blanco at the Japan card next week, has also said he would like a bout in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Sydney-based Kiwi James Te Huna (16-8) remains out of action following shoulder surgery. The middleweight went under the knife after he lost to Nate Marquardt via submission in the main event of UFC Fight Night 43.