Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov Set for UFC on ESPN 45

Elizeu
Zaleski dos Santos will return from suspension to face Abubakar
Nurmagomedov at
UFC on ESPN 45.

Canal Encarada was first to report the welterweight booking, and
Zaleski’s coach, Cristiano
Marcello, later confirmed the bout to
MMAFighting.com. UFC on ESPN 45 takes place on June 3 at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight tilt
pitting Jack
Hermansson against Brendan
Allen.

Zaleski is coming off a one-year USADA suspension after
testing positive for ostarine in an out-of-competition sample.
Zaleski blamed the failed test on a contaminated supplement but was
unable to secure a reduced sanction. The 36-year-old Brazilian last
competed at UFC 267, where he earned a lopsided unanimous decision
victory against Benoit St.
Denis in October 2021. “Capoeira” is 9-3 during his tenure with
the Las Vegas-based promotion and 23-7 as a professional
overall.

A veteran of the Professional Fighters League and World Series of
Fighting, Nurmagomedov has been victorious in two of his first
three Octagon appearances. After dropping his promotional debut to
David
Zawada, the 33-year-old Dagestani rebounded to earn decisions
over Jared
Gooden and Gazhi Omargadzhiev in his next two outings.
Nurmagomedov owns a 17-3-1 career mark since making his pro debut
in 2011.