Andrei Arlovski vs Shamil Abdurakhimov set for UFC Moscow on Sept. 15

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will (finally) make its long-awaited debut in Russia on Sept. 15, 2018 inside Olympic Stadium in Moscow, a “Fight Night” event that will no doubt be stacked with talent familiar to the promotion’s new market.

Like Andrei Arlovski.

The Belarusian will join the UFC Fight Pass line up against Dagestan’s Shamil Abdurakhimov, according to an Instagram post the former UFC heavyweight champion made on Thursday, while also warning his fans that he was in for a tough fight.

Arlovski (27-16, 1 NC) is looking to get back into the win column after going down on points to Tai Tuivasa at the UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) event earlier this month in Chicago. Abdurakhimov (18-4), meanwhile, is coming off a knockout win over Chase Sherman at UFC Fight Night 122 last November.

UFC Moscow is still in search of a headlining act after Fabricio Werdum was yanked from the card by United States Anti-Doping Agency, stranding Aleksei Oleinik in the process. Stay tuned for more UFC Moscow updates in the coming weeks, if not days.