Despite the continued insistence of his manager Malki Kawa, it appears Jorge Santiago has, in fact, signed a contract with the UFC and will, in fact, re-debut at UFC 130 on May 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And now it looks like he has an opponent -- Brian Stann. 

That's according to Heavy.com, who also say that Wanderlei Silva, the opponent the UFC was aiming for with Stann, simply refused to fight him. Apparently, "The Axe Murderer" was willing to retire rather than exchange punches against the popular military vet.

That left "All American" without a partner to dance with over the Memorial Day weekend but once again, matchmaker Joe Silva has come through in the clutch.

Stann punched his ticket to the middleweight elite by knocking out the previously unstoppable Chris Leben at UFC 125 on Jan. 1. Is he a bad match-up for Santiago to draw in his first fight back in the big show?

In his initial run with the UFC, Santiago went an unimpressive 1-2, suffering two spectacular knockout losses to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher respectively to send him on his way out of the promotion.

He wasted little time rebounding however, as he won nine in a row after that and has currently won 11 of his last 12 fights. That includes two defenses of his Sengoko middleweight championship, which he vacated to make his way to the greener pastures of the UFC.

They're throwing him straight into the fire against the super-soldier Stann but as they say -- the Octagon is the ultimate proving ground. Time for the Brazilian to step up to the plate.

He'll get the chance at UFC 130 which is set for May 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will feature Frankie Edgar putting his lightweight title on the line against the man who feels the belt belongs to him, Gray Maynard.

In other action, Quinton Jackson will take on Matt Hamill while Roy Nelson will return after his legal troubles against the always dangerous Frank Mir.

And you know to keep it locked right here to MMAMania.com for any updates as they become available.