Johnson's 145-lb debut vs. Elkins among 4 bouts booked for UFC St. Louis

A trio of proud Missouri natives will take the Octagon in the UFC's first St. Louis show.

Hometown favorite Michael Johnson announced Thursday on Instagram he'll make his featherweight debut opposite Darren Elkins at UFC Fight Night 124 on Jan. 14 at Scottrade Center.

The 31-year-old Johnson will seek a second wind at 145 pounds after dropping two straight, and four of his last five at lightweight. He most recently fell to Justin Gaethje by second-round knockout in a Fight of the Year candidate at the "TUF 25" finale in July.

Elkins welcomes Johnson to the division after mounting a five-fight win streak, including a comeback KO of Mirsad Bektic at UFC 209 and a split decision over Dennis Bermudez at UFC on FOX 25 in his last outing.

Also gracing the card is a welterweight tilt between former title challenger Thiago Alves and Missouri's own Zak Cummings - who's won two straight by submission - according to MMA Fighting's Danny Segura.

Cummings' teammate and fellow Missouri native James Krause will put his three-fight win streak on the line against Alex White in his return to lightweight, while Marco Polo Reyes will look to rebound from a May knockout loss to James Vick in another lightweight tilt against undefeated newcomer Matt Frevola, who earned his UFC contract with a submission of Jose Flores on "Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series" this past August.

A main event has not yet been announced for the February bill, although the card is expected to include a middleweight matchup between Vitor Belfort and Uriah Hall, in what will be the Brazilian's final UFC bout.