After two years, the UFC is returning to Utah on October 3 with its marquee UFC 332 event. Although the promotion has yet to reveal the card’s headliner, several announced bouts have already generated plenty of interest among fans. Amid the growing excitement, a former champion has also found himself making a timely return to the Octagon after a two-year layoff caused by an injury.

According to ESPN Brazil’s report, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is all set to return at UFC 332. The Brazilian MMA veteran, who holds a staggering 32-17 professional record, will face young contender Alexander Hernandez at welterweight, with the Texas-based fighter moving up to 170 pounds for the first time.

RDA’s return is a special moment for longtime UFC fans. The Brazilian delivered plenty of memorable performances during his prime and fought numerous elite names across the lightweight and welterweight divisions. However, the latter half of Dos Anjos’ career has been plagued by injuries and surgeries, a consequence of the wear and tear accumulated through years of grueling battles inside the cage.

His latest injury setback came nearly two years ago when Dos Anjos suffered a knee injury during his fight against Geoff Neal at UFC 308, resulting in a first-round TKO loss. After the bout, it was revealed that the Brazilian had suffered an ACL tear and a torn meniscus, injuries that required surgery and kept him out of action for an extended period. This is the same injury Conor McGregor is dealing with following his UFC 329 clash against Max Holloway last month.

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The former UFC lightweight champion initially underwent surgery in Brazil in November 2024. He also revealed that he had returned to training around half a year later. However, the 41-year-old disclosed that his knee repeatedly locked up during movement, forcing him to undergo another procedure in Austin.

Following that setback, Dos Anjos had to go through yet another surgery earlier this year in January. But that’s far from the full story of the UFC legend’s long battle with injuries.

While preparing to face Islam Makhachev back in 2020, Dos Anjos damaged the tissue in his right knee, which required surgery. After recovering, along with two canceled fights against Rafael Fiziev, Dos Anjos eventually returned in 2022 following another two-year layoff. Now, as fans await the former UFC lightweight king’s return to the Octagon, he isn’t the only former champion set to make a comeback at UFC 332.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will also compete at UFC 332 against young contender Payton Talbott, who defeated Henry Cejudo at UFC 323, the final ESPN and UFC pay-per-view card.

For now, it remains unclear whether the UFC will place the 41-year-old’s fight on the prelims or the main card. But it’s hard to deny that Rafael dos Anjos’ return has certainly made the Utah card shine even brighter, especially with several other veterans already included in the lineup.

UFC 332 features several veterans ready for exciting showdowns 

During the initial announcement, the UFC revealed that Johnny Walker would be moving up to the heavyweight division, with Mick Parkin announced as his opponent on the UFC 332 main card later. The exciting Brazilian has long been recognized as a top contender at 205 pounds. However, his career has seen plenty of ups and downs, and after his recent loss to Dominick Reyes, Walker probably realized it was the right time to make the move to 265 pounds.

His opponent, Mick Parkin, is coming off a loss to heavyweight veteran Marcin Tybura in his last outing, which also marked the only defeat of his career, leaving his record at 10-1. So, Walker definitely has a stern challenge ahead of him at UFC 332. Following him, another former title challenger is also set to make an anticipated return in Utah. 

Marvin Vettori, who challenged Israel Adesanya at UFC 263 for the middleweight title and lost, is coming back to face Ismael Naurdiev in a middleweight bout on the main card. Fans would have witnessed the matchup at UFC Baku, but the Italian fighter’s injury ruled him out of the fight. The UFC eventually rescheduled the bout for Utah, and now the matchup sounds even more fitting as it takes place on a marquee event. But it seems a huge amount of pressure will be on Vettori to secure a win. 

Currently, ‘The Italian Dream’ is on a three-fight losing streak, and another defeat could put his UFC future in serious jeopardy. With the promotion seemingly becoming stricter with its roster, Vettori might find himself on the chopping block if he loses his next bout. Outside of that, the promotion has also announced exciting preliminary fights, including Roman Kopylov vs. Ateba Gautier, which promises to be another banger.

That said, with such a stacked lineup, the UFC 332 card at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is shaping up to deliver another violent night of action, much like most of the numbered events we’ve seen this year.