Good things tend to come to those who wait. Try waiting 10 years. Former WEC Featherweight Champion Cole Escovedo will make his UFC debut at UFC 130, taking on 24-year-old prospect Renan Barao. Escovedo was preparing for this fight against Tommy Vargas for Tachi Palace Fighting when he received a call from Sean Shelby, the UFC match maker for the Bantamweight and Featherweight division.

Cole Escovedo will return to the big stage once again as he looks to continue his road to another championship. “I was ecstatic honestly. It’s not everyday the UFC calls YOU personally to offer you a fight, so I was pretty through the roof.” Cole told MMAValor through a message.

Apache Kid is no stranger to championships, becoming the first ever WEC Featherweight Champion when he defeated Philip Perez at WEC 5. After dropping three straight fights, Cole was sidelined for almost three years with a serious staph infection that left him partially paralyzed and required spinal surgery to repair.

The time off didn’t seem to phase him, as he rattled off five straight wins including victories over current WEC bantamweight Micheal McDonald and former DREAM and WEC championship contender Yoshiro Maeda. Escovedo has gone 6-2 since his return and is coming off an impressive submission victory over Steven Siler.

Standing across the Octagon will be Barao, who is also making his UFC debut and is currently unbeaten in his last twenty-five straight fights, with one no-contest. Escovedo isn’t deterred by the streak or his opponent. “Don’t have too much to say about Renan as I don’t know much about him (laugh). I know he’s on a long win streak from Brazil, good Thai and jitsu but that’s really it. At the end of the day, he’s just a man, and every man can be beat.”

Cole has been busy training, but also says he hasn’t changed too much up when it comes to his camp.

“Training hasn’t been changed too much, just focused on making his weakness obvious by adopting my strengths to counter things like his strength etc.”

Cole will look to make the most of his UFC debut, but when you’re a multi-time champion and a man who sat on the sideline for nearly three years, a debut like this will just be another opportunity for Apache Kid to show what he’s all about.