Matheus Nicolau was ranked No. 11 in the UFC flyweight division following his win over John Moraga in July 2016, but he hasn’t fought since.
Nicolau was suspended one year by USADA after testing positive for anastrozole in an out-of-competition test prior to his UFC Sao Paulo bout with Ulka Sasaki in Nov. 2016. Now he returns to action at Saturday’s UFC 219 in Las Vegas against Louis Smolka.
Forced to stay away from the game for 12 months, the Belo Horizonte native made sure to be active in the gym and in competition before his official return to the Octagon at the T-Mobile Arena.