A middleweight contest between former UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort and former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza will headline a future UFC Fight Night card in Brazil.

The UFC’s senior vice president and general manager of Brazil, Giovani Decker announced the news Tuesday during on appearance on Combate TV. The UFC would later confirm the news but have yet to reveal a host city or venue

Belfort (25-11), also a former UFC light heavyweight champion, is coming off a violent first round knockout over fellow MMA veteran Dan Henderson in their rubber match at UFC Fight Night 78 in November.

This performance got the “The Phenom” back into the win column after suffering a first round TKO to former champion Chris Weidman in their title fight at UFC 187 in May. This marked his first setback as a middleweight since his first round knockout loss to Anderson Silva in 2011. He previously put together three straight head kick knockouts.

Jacare (22-4), a multiple time Jiu-Jitsu champion, will be looking to right the ship after dropping a controversial decision to Yoel Romero at UFC 194 in December. This loss snapped the Brazilian’s eight fight win streak, which included seven stoppage wins, over names like Gegard Mousasi, Francis Carmont and Yushin Okami. Jacare will enter this bout with 18 stoppage victories, including 16 by way of submission.

About The Author

News Manager

José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.