Lando Vannata will welcome Brazilian lightweight Marcos Mariano to the Octagon at UFC 234 in Melbourne on Feb. 9, the promotion announced. Nolan King first reported the booking.
Mariano, 6-4 as a professional fighter and winner of four of his last five, is a teammate of former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who faces Israel Adesanya on the same card in Australia.
Vannata (9-3-2), a fan favorite lightweight, has his back against the wall after going 1-3-2 in his six UFC appearances. In his only Octagon win, “Groovy” knocked out John Makdessi with a wheel kick.