Felipe Bunes to Make UFC Debut Against Denys Bondar on Jan. 13

Let’s go!🇧🇷 https://t.co/X1thtJaXX3

— Felipinho Bunes (@BunesFelipinho) November 3, 2023

A flyweight clash has been added to the first Ultimate Fighting Championship card of 2024.

Brazil's Felipe Bunes (13-6) will make his UFC debut against Denys Bondar (14-4) on an event that will also feature former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta. The news of this flyweight pairing was first reported by Eurosport.NL, and confirmed by Bunes in a subsequent social media post. The currently unnamed UFC Fight Night event will play out inside of the UFC Apex on Jan. 13.

Bunes was initially set to make his organizational debut against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in June at UFC on ESPN 47. However, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champ was barred from competing after testing positive for metabolic modulator GW1516. Bunes was suspended for six months and fined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The bout will mark Bunes' return to competition after a year of inactivity. In his last outing, “Felipinho” secured a first-round knockout of Yuma Horiuchi at LFA 149 to capture the vacant flyweight strap.

Ukraine’s Bondar is coming off two consecutive losses inside the Octagon, having debuted with the company in 2022. “Psycho” suffered a technical decision loss against Carlos Hernandez back in June, following a strange situation initially ruled a knockout but later overturned due to an illegal clash of heads during a slam. This second defeat followed an injury stoppage against Malcolm Gordon in February 2022, with Bondar injuring his arm trying to stop a takedown. Before those setbacks, the 31-year-old had racked up eight straight finishes on the regional scene, although his pro record is currently disputed.