Mike Jackson vs. Dean Barry rescheduled for UFC event on April 23

Mike Jackson will make his return to the octagon for the first time since facing AEW superstar CM Punk when he faces Dean Barry at the upcoming UFC Fight Night card scheduled for April 23.

Multiple sources close to the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Monday. MMA Island initially reported the matchup.

Jackson will be seeking to add a UFC win back to his resume when he returns in April after his lopsided decision victory against Punk was overturned due to a positive drug test for marijuana. Regardless of the result, Jackson thoroughly dominated Punk in his second UFC appearance after falling to Mickey Gall in his debut back in 2016.

As for Barry, the 29-year-old Irish fighter will finally make his UFC debut after he had previously been scheduled to face Jackson on two different dates in 2021.

Unfortunately for Barry, visa issues prevented him from traveling into the United States and his UFC contract was eventually voided. Barry then went onto earn a first-round knockout over Drew Lipton under the Titan FC banner before inking a new deal with the UFC.

Now Jackson and Barry will face off at the upcoming UFC card on April 23 with a main event for the show still to be determined.