Diego Sanchez returns at UFC 253 to fight Jake Matthews; two other matchups booked

Diego Sanchez is set to make his return to the octagon.

The UFC 253 lineup appears to be nearly complete.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced three more fights, including a welterweight matchup between [autotag]Diego Sanchez[/autotag] and [autotag]Jake Matthews[/autotag], a featherweight fight between [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex da Silva[/autotag], and a lightweight bout between [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag] and [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag].

The Landwehr (14-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Young (13-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) booking was first reported by Cageside Press.

The lone member of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Season 1 still competing in the UFC, Sanchez (30-12 MMA, 19-12 UFC) has won three of his last four fights. He most recently competed in February, winning via disqualification due to an illegal knee landed by opponent Michel Perreira.

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Matthews (16-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) has won five of his last six fights. He’s riding back-to-back wins over Rostem Akman and Emil Meek. His only loss since November 2016 came against Anthony Rocco Martin.

When Riddell (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) takes on da Silva (21-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), he will join City Kickboxing teammates Israel Adesanya and Shane Young on the card.

With the addition, the UFC 253 lineup includes:

  • Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa – UFC middleweight title
  • Jan Blachowicz vs. Dominick Reyes
  • Donald Cerrone vs. Niko Price
  • Kai Kara-France vs. Brandon Royval
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Xiaonan Yan
  • Hakeem Dawodu vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
  • Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Ciryl Gane
  • Heili Alateng vs. Casey Kenney
  • David Dvorak vs. Jordan Espinosa
  • Jake Matthews vs. Diego Sanchez
  • Brad Riddell vs. Alex da Silva
  • Nate Landwehr vs. Shane Young

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