Former champ Renan Barao returns vs. Mitch Gagnon at UFC Fight Night 58

After a weight-cutting debacle in an August title fight rematch, Renan Barao was told he would need to fight again to work his way back into the UFC’s championship graces.

Now he has that matchup. Barao (32-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will meet Mitch Gagnon (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in a bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 58 in Brazil. UFC officials announced the new booking on Wednesday night.

UFC Fight Night 58 takes place Dec. 20 at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Barao’s home country. FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass are expected to carry the card.

Barao had a 33-fight unbeaten streak, including a perfect 7-0 in the UFC, snapped in a massive upset loss to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 173 in May. He was granted a rematch at UFC 177 in Dillashaw’s Sacramento backyard, but while cutting weight, he fell ill and wound up needing a trip to the hospital.

He wasn’t allowed to fight after the episode the afternoon of weigh-ins, and Joe Soto filled in for him on a day’s notice fighting for the title. UFC officials were so upset with Barao’s botched weight cut taking him out of the rematch that UFC President Dana White said the Brazilian would need to fight someone else rather than walking right back into another shot at the title.

Barao won the UFC’s interim bantamweight belt in July 2012, beating Urijah Faber. He defended it against Michael McDonald and Eddie Wineland before being named the official champion when Dominick Cruz’s return was again postponed. He then beat Faber again in February before losing the belt to Dillashaw.

Gagnon quietly has won four straight fights after losing his UFC debut by submission to Bryan Caraway at UFC 149. After that, the Canadian submitted Walel Watson at UFC 152, then picked up a “Submission of the Night” win over Dustin Kimura at UFC 165. After a unanimous decision win over Tim Gorman in April, he tapped out Roman Salazar earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 54.

Now he gets without question the toughest test of his career, and after fighting his first 14 bouts in his native Canada, he’ll pack his bags for Brazil – famous for causing problems for non-Brazilians.

The latest UFC Fight Night 58 card now includes:

• C.B. Dollaway vs. Lyoto Machida
• Renan Barao vs. Mitch Gagnon
• Igor Pokrajac vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Patrick Cummins
• Charlie Brenneman vs. Leandro Silva
• Rashid Magomedov vs. Elias Silverio
• Leandro Issa vs. Yuta Sasaki

For more on UFC Fight Night 58, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Renan Barao)