Nate Loughran vs. Erick Silva added to February’s UFC Fight Night 36 event in Brazil

After more than five years away from the UFC, Nate Loughran (11-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) returns to the octagon to meet Brazilian slugger Erick Silva (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC).

The new booking, which takes place at UFC Fight Night 36, was first reported by Brazilian outlet Combate.

Featuring a middleweight main event between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi, UFC Fight Night 36 takes place Feb. 15 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Caarina, Brazil. The card airs on FOX Sports 1 and streams on MMAjunkie.com, though the night’s bout order has yet to be revealed.

Loughran returns to the UFC after asking for his release in 2008. The NorCal Fighting Alliance product opened his professional career with nine straight wins, eight of which came by submission, including a UFC debut win over Johnny Rees. However, he suffered an injury against Tim Credeur in a December 2008 contest and quit on the stool before the start of the third round and later asked for his release from the promotion to focus on life outside of the cage.

While Loughran continued to train during his break from competition, he didn’t enter the cage again until March 2012, when he earned a split-decision win over Jamie Jara on the California regional scene.

He now meets Silva, an explosive 29-year-old Brazilian who looks to rebound from a disappointing (and shocking) knockout loss to Dong Hyun Kim in October. While Silva’s upside is undeniable, he’s struggled to find consistency in the cage against top competition, including the loss to Kim as well as an October 2012 defeat against Jon Fitch.

With the addition to the card, UFC Fight Night 36 now includes:

• Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Francis Carmont vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Cristiano Marcello vs. Joe Proctor
• Viscardi Andrade vs. Nicholas Musoke
• Andy Ogle vs. Charles Oliveira
• Jesse Ronson vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Thiago Tavares vs. Zubair Tuhugov
• Rodrigo Damm vs. Ivan Jorge
• Nate Loughran vs. Erick Silva

For more on UFC Fight Night 36, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Nate Loughran)