Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans has officially been medically cleared to make his middleweight debut at UFC 209.
On Tuesday, ESPN confirmed Evans received his license to compete in Las Vegas on March 4.
Evans will fight 39-year-old Daniel Kelly at UFC 209. Kelly is on a three-fight win streak in the UFC. He is coming off a decision win over Chris Camozzi in November.
Evans is on a two-fight losing streak. He is coming off a knockout loss to former light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira in April. In Oct. 2015, he lost a decision to Ryan Bader.
It has been over three years since Evans has won in the UFC. He last won in Nov. 2013 when he defeated Chael Sonnen by TKO.
Evans last two fights were canceled shortly before his fight was set to take place due to not being medically cleared to compete. At UFC 205, in November, the New York Athletic Commission would not grant Evans a license to fight Tim Kennedy due to a preexisting medical condition. The fight was rebooked for UFC 206, in Toronto, but yet again Evans did not receive medical clearance for the same reason.
