By: MMAmania 

Martin Kampmann (15-2) will make his return to the Octagon for the first time in more than one year when he takes on Jorge Rivera (15-6) at UFC 85 in a middleweight scrap at the O2 Arena in London, England, on June 7, according to Greg Savage of the Savage Dog Show on Sherdog.com.

The “Hitman” has been out of action lately, recovering from multiple knee surgeries to a repair an injury that he sustained training for a showdown with former middleweight champion, Rich Franklin, at UFC 72: “Victory” in June 2007.

He had to pull out of the bout, which “Ace” eventually wound up winning against replacement Yushin Okami via unanimous decision. The win earned Franklin a fight with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva — a bout he went on to lose via technical knockout in round two.

There’s no telling if Kampmann would have earned the same opportunity with a win over Franklin. However, with impressive wins over fighters such as Drew McFedries, Thales Leites and Crafton Wallace inside the Octagon, his stock was certainly on the rise prior to the setback.

He’ll look to regain that form when he takes on “El Conquistador.”

Rivera — a UFC veteran who was also a former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 — is coming off a big knockout win over Kendall Grove at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” earlier this year. He’s also got a technical knockout win over Edwin DeWees and a knockout loss to Terry Martin since his return to the organization.

It’s safe to say that Rivera is consistently inconsistent — he has been unable to string together consecutive wins in eight attempts with the UFC. And if you’re looking for a trend, he’s scheduled (on paper) to lose this next one against Kampmann.

UFC 85 features the light heavyweight showdown between Chuck Liddell and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as the main event. In addition, heavyweights Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum, as well as welterweights Mike Swick and Marcus Davis, are expected to battle it out on European soil.

To check out the most recent rumored UFC 85 fight card click here.