UFC 263 sees two rematches take place in the form of championship fights, with Israel Adesanya defending his middleweight (185lbs) title against Marvin Vettori and Deiveson Figueiredo taking on Brandon Moreno for the flyweight (125lbs) strap.
Nate Diaz also returns for the first time since November 2019 in an inaugural five-round non-title, non-main event bout against England's Leon Edwards at welterweight (170lbs).
Adesanya vs Vettori
Having fought back in April 2018, both fighters have a combined 12-0 middleweight record in the three years since.
That 2018 fight was Adesanya's second in the UFC and was he first time he had had to rely on the judges in what was his 13th career outing.
A split decision win for the Nigerian was the outcome in what was seemingly a clear two rounds to one victory in his favour, one that Vettori has vehemently disputed ever since.
Off the back of his failed double title bid, and subsequent first career loss, at the hands of light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz back in March, Adesanya returns to middleweight for the first time since dispatching Paulo Costa last September.
Vettori, meanwhile, has put together a five-fight winning streak since his defeat to Adesanya and has worked his way to a title shot following consecutive main event decision wins over Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland, respectively.
Figueiredo vs Moreno
Following a fight of the year contender back in December that saw a majority draw between the Brazilian and Mexican, the two meet immediately again for the title.
A point deduction for Figueiredo led to a somewhat fitting outcome, such was the quality of the action over those 25 minutes.
What was also considerably notable was the fact that both men had fought and won just three weeks previously.
Figueiredo submitted Alex Perez 117 seconds into his first defence, while Moreno scored himself a first round finish over Brandon Royval.
One of the most potent finishers in the division's history, Figueiredo has seen the judges' scorecards just twice in nine UFC wins having won the title in brutal fashion against divisional stalwart Joseph Benavidez.
Moreno, meanwhile, has seen not quite seen the same smooth ascent to the top.
'The Assassin Baby' found himself cut from the roster following two decision losses and amidst a brief divisional purge.
The Mexican collected a title in his sole bout between UFC stints, making his return in a split draw against potential next challenger Askar Askarov.
Three wins later, Moreno had completed a relatively whirlwind route to a title shot against Figueiredo.
Edwards vs Diaz
Nate Diaz returns to the Octagon for the first time in over 18 months, with a strong test awaiting him in Leon Edwards.
Despite fighting the majority of his career at lightweight (155lbs), Diaz will make his fifth consecutive welterweight appearance.
Having last fought in a TKO loss to Jorge Masvidal, Diaz will be welcomed back to action by #3 ranked Edwards.
Edwards himself had endured a prolonged absence from the cage, until he returned in an anticlimactic bout vs Belal Muhammad back in March, which ended after an eyepoke from the Brit rendered Muhammad unable to continue.
That broke an eight-fight winning streak for Edwards, whose last defeat came at the hands of current champion Kamaru Usman back in December 2015.
Edwards' road to return vs Muhammad was a fairly tumultuous one.
Following his unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos in July 2019, the 29-year-old was slated to face former champion Tyron Woodley in London in March last year.
However, the bout was cancelled following the beginning of the Covid restrictions and he saw his Woodley main event go to Gilbert Burns instead a few months later.
Burns won a lopsided decision and subsequently received the title shot vs Usman, but was forced to withdraw after a positive Covid test.
Edwards was apparently offered the shot instead but was forced to turn it down, citing his inability to train properly in England due to restrictions.
'Rocky' was then briefly removed from the rankings for 'inactivity' before soon after being announced as a headliner in a December bout with fast-rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev.
However, Edwards was then forced to withdraw after contracting Covid and subsequently more severe symptoms than most.
The bout was rescheduled once more for January before Chimaev withdrew with Covid, before the Swede pulled out once and for all in the third booking of the fight scheduled for March, which in turn led to Muhammad replacing him.
A fight on a main card of a PPV in an unprecedented five round bout against one of the company's biggest stars represents arguably Edwards' biggest fight of his career and a chance to finally grasp a shot at the title.
