Warlley Alves, Sultan Aliev to Lock Horns at UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro

A welterweight duel pitting Warlley Alves against Sultan Aliev has been added to the UFC 224 lineup.

The Las Vegas-based promotion confirmed the pairing on Tuesday. UFC 224 takes place at Juenuesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on May 12 and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight title bout between Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington.

Alves competed just once in 2017, ending a two-bout skid with a unanimous decision triumph against Salim Touahri at UFC Fight Night 118. The 27-year-old Brazilian began his promotional tenure with four consecutive victories and owns an 11-2 professional record overall.

Aliev, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since December 2016, when he earned his first Octagon triumph with a split verdict over Bojan Velickovic at UFC on Fox 22. The 33-year-old Dagestani suffered a first-round knockout loss in his promotional debut against Kenny Robertson at UFC on Fox 14.