A UFC Hall of Famer is returning after a lengthy absence.

Urijah Faber, a pioneer for lighter-weight fighters in MMA, will fight Ricky Simon in a bantamweight bout at UFC Sacramento on July 13 at Golden 1 Center, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter was the first to report the news.

Faber, 40, is a Sacramento native, so the return location is significant. The bout will not be the main event, sources said.

Faber (34-10) has not fought since UFC on Fox 22 in December 2016, a unanimous decision win over Brad Pickett in Sacramento. Faber announced that would be his retirement bout, but never wrote a letter to the UFC or removed himself from the USADA drug-testing pool to formally retire.

Urijah Faber, a fan favorite among the mixed martial arts faithful, will return to the Octagon in July after a 2½-year layoff. Ed Mulholland for ESPN

"The California Kid" was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2017. Faber, who became a father for the first time earlier this year, is a former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion who defended the belt a record five times. He is also the patriarch of Team Alpha Male, one of MMA's top teams.

Faber's ability to draw fans with his bouts in the 145-pound division was one of the main reasons the UFC decided to acquire WEC and its lighter-weight classes in 2006. The belief at the time was that weight classes below 170 pounds would never be popular, but Faber's fights garnered big ratings and sold tickets.

Simon (15-1) is a rising star in the bantamweight division. The Washington state native, who trains out of Portland, Oregon, has won eight straight, including his first three fights in the UFC. Simon, 26, is a former Legacy Fighting Alliance bantamweight champion. He trains with the likes of Chael Sonnen and Paige VanZant.

UFC Sacramento does not yet have an announced main event. The card will also feature a bout between strawweight contenders Cynthia Calvillo and Livinha Souza.