The UFC Fight Night 51 is shaping up fast, and the promotion added a pair of welterweight match-ups.
George Sullivan and Igor Araujo, who are perfect inside the Octagon, will battle at the UFN card in Brasilia, Brazil, on Sept. 13, sources told MMAFighting.com.
Sullivan (15-3, 1 no-contest) returns to the cage following a unanimous decision victory over Mike Rhodes in his Octagon debut in January. The welterweight won six straight, with three TKO victories in 2013.
Araujo (25-6, 1 no-contest), a former The Ultimate Fighter contestant, defeated Ildemar Alcantara and Danny Mitchell in his UFC bouts. He enters the bout riding a six-fight win streak with three submissions.
The second welterweight match-up added to the card was officially announced by the promotion Sunday. Paulo Thiago and Mike Rhodes, who desperately need a win to stay in the UFC, will meet in Brasilia.
With two wins over the past eight bouts, Thiago (15-7) surprisingly signed a new four-fight deal with the promotion earlier this year, and gets his last chance in his homeland of Brasilia. His last UFC wins came against Michel Prazeres and David Mitchell.
Rhodes (6-3), a former RFA welterweight champion, is 0-2 under the UFC banner with a pair of decision losses to George Sullivan and Robert Whittaker.
Headlined by a rematch between “Bigfoot” Silva and Andrei Arlovski, UFC Fight Night 51 takes place at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium in the capital of Brazil. The other fights already announced for the card are Leonardo Santos vs. Lukasz Sajewski and Sergio Moraes vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio.