Latifi vs. Oezdemir, Miller vs. Guida among 11 fights for UFC on ESPN 5

The UFC’s return to New Jersey has taken shape in a big way.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced 10 bouts for UFC on ESPN 5, which takes place Aug. 3 at Prudential Center in Newark and airs entirely on ESPN.

Headlining the card, a clash between former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and former champ Robbie Lawler (28-13 MMA, 13-7 UFC) is slated for the event.

In the co-main event, light heavyweights collide as Volkan Oezdemir (15-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) battles Ilir Latifi (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC). The pair of ranked 205-pound hitters originally was slated to square off at UFC on ESPN+11, but a fight week injury forced Latifi out of the bout.

Oezdemir, 29, will look to rebound from three straight losses suffered against then-champ Daniel Cormier, recent title challenger Anthony Smith and top contender Dominick Reyes.

A winner of two out of his last three bouts, Latifi also will look to get in the win column. The Swedish fighter last competed at UFC 232, losing a unanimous decision to Corey Anderson.

Also added to the card, veteran lightweights meet in a matchup which, somewhat surprisingly, has never been booked until now. A combined 60 UFC bouts between them, Jim Miller (30-13 MMA, 19-12 UFC) and Clay Guida (35-18 MMA, 15-12 UFC) will meet in the cage for the first time.

Eight additional fights also were officially added to the card. New additions include Trevin Giles (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (29-11 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Antonina Shevchenko (7-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Lucie Pudilova (8-4 MMA 2-3 UFC).

The latest UFC on ESPN 5 lineup includes:

• Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler
• Volkan Oezdemir vs. Ilir Latifi
• Jim Miller vs. Clay Guida
• Joaquim Silva vs. Nasrat Haqparast
• Jordan Espinosa vs. Matt Schnell
• Lauren Murphy vs. Mara Romero Borella
• Antonina Shevchenko vs. Lucie Pudilova
• Trevin Giles vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Darko Stosicvs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
• Ramazan Emeev vs. Claudio Silva
• Scott Holtzman vs. Dong Hyun Ma

For more on UFC on ESPN 5, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.