The UFC plans on ending the year with a bang.

A long-discussed matchup between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former interim titleholder Colby Covington has finally been made official and will be held at UFC 245 on Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

MMAJunkie confirmed an initial Friday report by ESPN through a source with knowledge of the situation. The source also said the fight is expected to headline the card.

The announcement of the welterweight title matchup means that the card now features three title fights. In addition to Usman-Covginton, Max Holloway will defend his featherweight belt against Alexander Volkanovski, and Amanda Nunes will defend her bantamweight belt against former featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie.

Usman (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) has been on a sensational run through one of the sport’s most talent-rich divisions. Since busting onto the scene by winning “The Ultimate Fighter 21” tournament, no one has come close to defeating Usman, whose slow-but-steady rise to the top culminated in a thoroughly one-sided unanimous-decision victory over Tyron Woodley to claim the belt at UFC 235.

Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), for his part, finally gets a shot he’s believed he’s deserved for the past year and a half. Covington defeated former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos to win an interim welterweight crown at UFC 225.

But from there, he ran into trouble getting his expected title shot. When Covington balked at a UFC 228 unification bout with Woodley, the UFC stripped him of the interim belt and made a Woodley-Darren Till fight instead.

Covington returned to action in August and scored an impressive victory over former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler to score his seventh straight win. After attempts to make a UFC 244 fight with Usman, who had been out following double hernia surgery, fell apart, Covington complained that he was being treated unfairly by the UFC.

The latest UFC 245 card now includes:

Colby Covington vs. Kamaru Usman – for welterweight title

Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski – for featherweight title

Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie – for women’s bantamweight title

Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio

Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araujo

Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

Kai Kara-France vs. Sergio Pettis

Oskar Piechota vs. Punahele Soriano

Gallery Kamaru Usman def. Tyron Woodley at UFC 235: Best photos view 20 images