UFC confirms Eddie Alvarez will take on Dustin Poirier at UFC211 in May

Eddie Alvarez will be making his return to the octagon for the first time since losing to Conor McGregor at UFC 205.

The UFC has confirmed that former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will take on Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on 13 May.

Alvarez – who has a 28-5 record in MMA – will be making his return to the octagon for the first time since losing his lightweight title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205 in November 2016.

The former Bellator champion has not fought since, and was reportedly offered as a potential opponentto Nate Diaz in February, which the Stockton native laughed off.

Alvarez later confirmed that Diaz turned him down and revealed that he has been looking to return to action, but only with an opponent that would excite him and fans, notably mentioning Tony Ferguson.

However, the Philadephia native will now be facing Dustin Poirier, who is fresh off a "Fight of the Night" performance against Jim Miller at UFC 208 in February.

Poirier, who also challenged Diaz to a fight, has a 21-5 record in MMA and has lost only once in five fights since moving up from featherweight to the lightweight division, repeatedly speaking of his desire to fight top 10 contenders.

Added to the UFC 211 card is a flyweight bout between top contender Henry Cejudo and young prospect Sergio Pettis, brother of former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

Everything's bigger in Texas! #UFC211 adds two more HUGE bouts in Dallasâ€¼ï¸â€¼ï¸â€¼ï¸ pic.twitter.com/CVgiPB1VVr
— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2017

The two fights have been added to an already strong fight card in Dallas headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Stipe Miocic and Junior Dos Santos.