A middleweight matchup appears to be in the works for UFC 134: Rio, as “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (7-3) faces Maiquel Falcão (26-3, 1NC) at the Brazilian event.
MMAjunkie.com reported the bout on Monday night, confirming that both fighters had verbally agreed to meet. They did not have information as to whether or not the bout would be placed on the main or preliminary card. It’s likely that both will meet on a televised prelim fight such as on Facebook.
UFC 134: Rio is expected to take place on Aug. 27 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will mark the UFC’s first return to the South American country since 1998.
Lawlor is 3-2 in the UFC and earned a win in his last fight after two straight losses. He earned a unanimous decision over former middleweight contender Patrick Côté at UFC 121. Before that win, “Filthy” was forced to tap by Joe Doerksen at UFC 113, and lost a split decision to Aaron Simpson at UFC Fight Night 20. The fight with Simpson earned both men the “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Falcão made his UFC debut last November, earning a unanimous decision over Gerald Harris at UFC 123. That victory was Falcão’s eighth straight win and his twelfth in thirteen fights. He’s fought strictly in Brazil, minus the UFC 123 bout, over his career for various promotions, earning twenty-three of his twenty-six victories by (T)KO.