Josh Emmett’s return to the octagon is set.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Emmett is expected to face Lerone Murphy in the main event of the UFC’s April 5 Fight Night event, which is expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Emmett makes his first appearance since brutally knocking out Bryce Mitchell at UFC 296 in December 2023. Prior to that, the 39-year-old dropped back-to-back fights — a second-round submission loss to Yair Rodriguez in an interim featherweight title fight at UFC 284 in February 2023 and a unanimous decision defeat to now-champ Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC Jacksonville four months later.

Murphy prepares for the biggest fight of his career, and his second octagon main event bout. “The Miracle” is unbeaten in his 16-fight pro career, including a 7-0-1 run in the UFC. In his most recent outing, Murphy defeated Dan Ige via decision at UFC 308 in October.

Damon Martin contributed to this report.