Estevan Payan vs. Robert Peralta booked for December's UFC 168 card in Las Vegas

The UFC’s year-end show in Las Vegas now has a dozen matchups with the addition of a featherweight fight.

Estevan Payan (14-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will meet Robert Peralta (16-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) this December in Las Vegas. UFC officials announced the new fight booking on Monday.

Featuring a headliner between UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman and former title holder Anderson Silva, UFC 168 takes place Dec. 28 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The night’s main card airs pay-per-view. The Payan-Peralta bout is expected to take place on the prelims, which air on FOX Sports 1 and stream on Facebook.

Payan made his UFC debut in May after a two-fight run in Strikeforce, but he dropped a unanimous decision to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 160. The setback snapped a stretch of eight fights without a loss for the Arizona-based fighter. Apart from his two wins in Strikeforce – a TKO of MIke Bravo at the promotion’s finale in January and a decision win over Alonzo Martinez a year prior – Payan has a pair of Bellator fights on his resume.

Peralta will return to action following a six-month suspension after testing positive for marijuana following his decision loss to Akira Corassani in Sweden in April. Proir to that, Peralta had gone 10 fights without a loss, with just a no-contest from an accidental headbutt against Mackens Semerzier standing between him and perfection since late 2009. His two UFC wins came with a decision victory over Mike Lullo and a 23-second knockout of Jason Young in England in September 2012.

With the addition to the card, UFC 168 now features:

• Champ Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva – for UFC middleweight title
• Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title
• Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
• Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier
• Fabricio Camoes vs. Jim Miller
• Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
• Michael Johnson vs. Gleison Tibau
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Dennis Siver
• William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker
• Shane Del Rosario vs. Guto Inocente
• Siyar Bahadurzada vs. John Howard
• Estevan Payan vs. Robbie Peralta

For more on UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Robbie Peralta)