Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza to face Marvin Vettori at UFC 256

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (26-8-0) became the first UFC competitor pulled from a fight due to a positive coronavirus test result in May. 

ESPN's Marc Raimondi reported that Souza will make his return to the octagon to face Marvin Vettori (15-4-1) at the UFC 256 show on Dec. 12. 

Souza hasn't competed since a loss to Jan Blachowicz last November and has dropped three of his previous four bouts. Vettori, meanwhile, toppled Karl Roberson in June to win his third consecutive contest. 

Souza was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249 on May 9 but was withdrawn from the card after he and a pair of cornermen tested positive for the virus. 

It's unknown which fight will headline UFC 256 after reports emerged that Kamaru Usman won't defend his welterweight title versus Gilbert Burns in the main event because Usman is recovering from undisclosed injuries. Recently, former two-division champion Conor McGregor (22-4-0), the promotion's top pay-per-view draw, offered to fight Dustin Poirier (26-6-0) either at UFC 256 or on a different show before the year ends. 

UFC boss Dana White could ask Stipe Miocic to defend his heavyweight championship against top contender Francis Ngannou on Dec. 12. Miocic successfully retained his title with a win over Daniel Cormier in August but could take the rest of the year off to recover from that bout. 

Current UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes is expected to defend her featherweight title against Megan Anderson at UFC 256. That fight likely lacks the star power desired to top what is supposed to be a massive card. 

Strawweights Mackenzie Dern (9-1-0) and Virna Jandiroba (16-1-0) are also set to fight at UFC 256.