Thiago Alves vs. Zak Cummings, two other bouts added to UFC St. Louis

Thiago Alves will be competing on the first UFC card of 2018.

The former UFC welterweight title challenger will be taking on Zak Cummings in a 170-pound contest at UFC St. Louis. The event is set to take place on Jan. 14 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The new was announced by the promotion on Wednesday.

Alves was scheduled to take on rising prospect Mike Perry back in September at UFC Pittsburgh, but withdrew due to complications with Hurricane Irma. The American Top Team product last fought in April at UFC 210 where he defeated fellow veteran Patrick Cote via unanimous decision. Alves, 34, is currently 22-11 as a professional fighter including a 14-8 run in the UFC.

Alves’ opponent, Cummings, has also only competed once in 2017. Cummings is currently 4-1 in his last five trips to the Octagon with his only loss coming to top 10 contender Santiago Ponzinibbio.

The promotion also announced two additional lightweight bouts for the St. Louis event in James Krause vs. Alex White and Polo Reyes vs. Matt Frevola.