Thomas Almeida returns to fight Alejandro Perez at Oct. 10 UFC event

Absentee bantamweight contender Thomas Almeida is back in the fold.

MMA Fighting confirmed with sources that Almeida (22-3) will fight Alejandro Perez (21-8-1) at a UFC event on Oct. 10 with a location still to be determined. Milenio was first to report the matchup.

This fight marks Almeida’s first since Jan. 20, 2018. “Thominhas” entered his 33-month hiatus with losses in three of his last four fights. He began his pro career 21-0 with four straight wins in the UFC before hitting his current slump. Most recently, he lost by second-round TKO to Rob Font at UFC 220.

Almeida, 29, had a fight booked against Marlon Vera for UFC 235 in March 2019, but was forced to withdraw due to issues with his vision.

Perez is coming off of back-to-back losses to Song Yadong and Cody Stamann. Prior to those setbacks, “Turbo” was on a 6-0-1 stretch that included wins over veterans Eddie Wineland, Iuri Alcantara, and Scott Jorgensen. He is competing for the first time since July 2019.