Kyung Ho Kang returns from military service at UFC Fight Night 124 in St. Louis

Next month’s UFC Fight Night 124 lineup has a new bantamweight bout – with two fighters who recently have been out of action.

Kyung Ho Kang (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC) – “Mr. Perfect” – is slated for a meeting with Guido Cannetti (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), officials recently announced.

UFC Fight Night 124 takes place Jan. 14 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. It airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, though the full fight card and bout order haven’t been determined.

Kang, a 30-year-old Korean fighter who returns from mandatory military service in his home country, joined the UFC after winning the 2012 ROAD FC bantamweight tournament. After going winless in his first two UFC fights – a no-contest with Alex Caceres (who failed a drug test) and a unanimous-decision loss to Chico Camus – he’s rebounded with wins over Shunichi Shimizu (submission) and Michinori Tanaka (split decision). He fights for the first time since September 2014 due to his military layoff.

He meets Cannetti, a 37-year-old Argentine fighter, is 1-1 since moving to the U.S., hooking up with Jackson-Wink MMA, and signing with the UFC. The Bitetti Combat vet has a submission loss to Henry Briones (in a “Fight of the Night” performance) and a unanimous-decision victory over Hugo Viana. He fights for the first time since 2016 due to a suspension for multiple banned substances, which he attributed to a tainted supplement.

The latest UFC Fight Night 124 card includes:

• Dooho Choi vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Vitor Belfort vs. Uriah Hall
• Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Paige VanZant
• Jessica Eye vs. Kalindra Faria
• Darren Elkins vs. Michael Johnson
• Thiago Alves vs. Zak Cummings
• James Krause vs. Alex White
• Matt Frevola vs. Marco Polo Reyes
• J.J. Aldrich vs. Danielle Taylor
• Irene Aldana vs. Talita Bernardo
• Guido Cannetti vs. Kyung Ho Kang

For more on UFC Fight Night 124, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.