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Cain Velasquez is back. The former UFC heavyweight champion is set to return to the Octagon on Feb. 17 in Phoenix when he takes on former title challenger Francis Ngannou in the main event of the first fight card to air exclusively on ESPN, according to UFC president Dana White.

Velasquez, who has been out of action since defeating Travis Browne at UFC 200 in July 2016, also signed a new four fight contract with the company, according to ESPN. Velasquez, 36, has battled a multitude of injuries in his career, including major back issues.

Velasquez headlined the company's first show on major network television as well when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Junior dos Santos in 2011 on Fox. 

Up until Stipe Miocic, Velasquez was the longest reigning heavyweight champion in UFC history with two defenses of his belt and two stints as the titleholder.

Ngannou, meanwhile, is coming off a vicious first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes that ended a two-fight losing streak. His two losses, specifically to Derrick Lewis in July, left the UFC president questioning the raw prospect after barely throwing a punch in the 15-minute bout.

"He had a pretty quick rise here, and obviously the fight over Alistair Overeem catapulted him, everybody was talking about him," White said in August via MMAFighting.com. "I thought he was going to be the next guy. I think his ego ran away with him big time. I can tell you that his ego absolutely did run away with him. And the minute that happens to you in the fight game, you see what happens. You start to fall apart. I had some personal encounters with him, as did other people in the organization, and this guy's ego just was so out of control."