Ultimate Fighter Nations winner Elias Theodorou will return to the UFC octagon this July, according to a new report by FloCombat. Set to meet him in the cage will be Brad Tavares, the TUF 11 vet last seen picking up a split decision over Caio Magalhães at UFC 203. The UFC has not yet confirmed the bout. The event takes place July 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Theodorou (13–1) is 5-1 in the UFC to date, with his only loss coming to Thiago Santos back in 2015. Since then, he’s picked up unanimous decision wins in his last two fights. The Canadian confirmed the bout via Twitter.
Welp, cat looks to be out of the bag. @SugaRashadEvans didn't want to go 0-2 at MW, so @BradTavares is up. Looking forward to it, sir. <3
— The Spartan (@EliasTheodorou) April 18, 2017
Tavares (14–4), meanwhile, is 2-3 over his last five, with wins over Magalhães and Nate Marquardt. His losses, however, represent struggles with steps up in competition, as the middleweight has suffered knockouts at the hands of Tim Boetsch and Robert Whittaker, as well as a decision loss to Yoel Romero.
One thing that will not be happening, however, is a stipulation match. Despite banter between the fighters that Theodoreau’s hair might be on the line, vs. a trip to Vegas provided by Tavares, the Canadian shot down the idea late last month. On the Fightful MMA podcast, Theodoreau explained why:
well my hair is worth more than a stay in Vegas. He’s going to have to up his side OF the bargain for me to bite on that in any shape or form. Basically, his whole purse.
Theodoreau is currently sponsored by hair product maker Pert, so his hair probably won’t be on the line any time soon.
