Gleison Tibau wanted a quick return to the Octagon, and he’s getting one.
Days after a unanimous decision victory over Pat Healy, the longtime UFC veteran is scheduled to co-headline the UFC Fight Night 51 card in Brasilia, Brazil, against Piotr Hallmann. UFC announced the match-up Tuesday.
Tibau (29-10) returned to the win column following a TKO loss to Michael Johnson in December, and Hallmann (15-2) gets back in action following a submission victory over Yves Edwards in June.
UFN 51 takes place at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium in Brasilia on September 13 and is headlined by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva vs. Andrei Arlovski.
“I’m really happy with my return,” Tibau told MMAFighting.com. “Pat Healy was coming off losses, but I expected a tough fight. I landed some heavy shots and he didn’t go down. It looks like he never felt them, man. He has an unbelievable chin, a good wrestling and a great cardio. It was a great fight, and I was able to break his game.”
“If the UFC gives me three more fights this year, I can easily do it. I just want to win,” he added. “I don’t care who I’m fighting, I just want to fight and win. I want to break more records. That’s my goal. I want to be the UFC champion and I want to break every UFC record.”
Another match-up added to the card is Godofredo Pepey vs. Dashon Johnson. TUF: Brazil’s Pepey (10-3) stopped Noad Lahat with a vicious flying knee in his last UFC appearance in March, while Johnson looks for his first win inside the Octagon after a submission loss to Jake Matthews.
Paulo Thiago, who found himself without an opponent for the second time after Joe Riggs was forced out of the card due to an “unfortunate accident” while cleaning his pistol, will battle Sean Spencer in Brasilia, recently UFC announced. Spencer (11-3) is 2-2 under the UFC banner. Thiago (15-7) is 1-4 over the past five bouts.
Here’s the current fight card for UFC Fight Night 51:
Antonio Silva vs. Andrei Arlovski
Gleison Tibau vs. Piotr Hallmann
Leonardo Santos vs. Lukasz Sajewski
Sergio Moraes vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Igor Araujo vs. George Sullivan
Jessica Andrade vs. Valerie Letourneau
Godofredo Pepey vs. Dashon Johnson
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Efrain Escudero
Paulo Thiago vs. Sean Spencer
Rani Yahya vs. Johnny Bedford