Stipe Miocic meets newly signed Soa Palelei at UFC 161 in June heavyweight tilt

It didn’t take long for Soa Palelei to get his first work in his UFC return.

Palelei (18-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), an Australian heavyweight will meet Stipe Miocic (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 161 this summer. UFC officials on Tuesday confirmed the new fight booking, citing a report from the Australian website MMA Kanvas.

UFC 161 takes place June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It will be the UFC’s first show in Winnipeg.

Miocic will be looking to rebound from his September loss to Stefan Struve in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 5 in Nottingham, England. The second-round TKO was the first loss of the Ohio-based fighter’s MMA career. Despite the loss, Miocic picked up a “Fight of the Night” bonus for the slugfest, his second UFC bonus in three fights.

He started his career with the promotion 3-0 with wins over Joey Beltran, a “Knockout of the Night” 43-second stoppage of Phil De Fries and a second-round TKO of Shane del Rosario at UFC 146 this past May.

Palelei’s management team on Monday announced “The Hulk” had inked a deal with the UFC, where he fought one time in 2007. He has an eight-fight win streak – all TKO stoppages. His lone UFC fight came against Eddie Sanchez at UFC 79, where he dropped a third-round TKO. He didn’t return to action for 15 months, but when he did he went on a streak that currently has him 10-1 with the lone loss coming to unbeaten UFC contender Daniel Cormier.

The latest UFC 161 card includes:

• Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua
• Jake Shields vs. Tyrone Woodley
• Stipe Miocic vs. Soa Palelei

For the latest on UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Stipe Miocic)