Sean Soriano to Make UFC Return at UFC 262 Against Christos Giagos

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 262 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Three-time Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Sean Soriano is coming back to the promotion after over six years away.

MMA Junkie first reported the news on Thursday that Soriano (14-6) would be making his UFC comeback at UFC 262 in just over a week. At this event that will go down inside the packed Toyota Center in Houston on May 15, Soriano will meet Christos Giagos (18-8). Soriano will be replacing Joel Alvarez at lightweight, who was forced to withdraw from the pairing due to visa issues.

Soriano competed in the UFC from 2014 to 2015, facing Tatsuya Kawajiri, Chas Skelly and Charles Rosa in just over a year’s time. The New Englander suffered his first career defeat to Kawajiri, and he went on to lose to Skelly and Rosas as well to spell his release. The featherweight went on to compete across several American promotions, amassing a record of 5-3 with four finishes, before facing Noad Lahat in March. At UAE Warriors 18, Soriano improved his win streak to three by putting Lahat away in just over two minutes, prompting his return to the UFC on short notice.

Giagos has won three of his last four, with each of those four bouts going the distance. In this stretch that dates back to the end of 2018, “The Spartan” has beaten the likes of Damir Hadzovic, Mizuto Hirota and Carlton Minus, and fell short to Drakkar Klose. This run of Giagos in the UFC is his second, as he too was a member of the roster from 2015 to 2015, and he dropped two of three to Gilbert Burns and Chris Wade to spell his own release. His comeback in 2018 came against Charles Oliveira, where he fell short to the future lightweight title challenger by second-round submission.

UFC 262 will take place on May 15 at the sold-out Toyota Center in Houston, with a lightweight championship headliner between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The current co-main event sees lightweights Tony Ferguson and Beneil Dariush battle it out, while the featured fight on the card is a middleweight clash between Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan.