Paulo Thiago
Brazilian special police force (BOPE) member Paulo Thiago (14-5) will reportedly meet Lance Benoist (6-2) this coming May as part of the upcoming UFC on FX 8 in Brazil.
The matchup was announced by Brazilian news agency Esportes.br.msn.com on Friday.
UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold (aka UFC on FX 8) is expected to take place on May 18, 2013 at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The television event is headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC champ Vitor Belfort and the last Strikeforce title holder Luke Rockhold.
With all of the cuts to the UFC fighter ranks, the loser between Thiago and Benoist is certain to receive a pink slip with both men entering the match after two-straight losses.
Thiago is 1-4 in his last five bouts having lost a decision to Dong Hyun Kim last November at UFC Macau as well as suffering a 42-second knockout loss to Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC on FUEL TV 2 in April. Thiago’s last win came in August 2011 at UFC 134 which saw the Brazilian earn a decision against David Mitchell.
Benoist is 1-2 in the Octagon with an appearance at UFC 152 in his last fight. At the Toronto event, Benoist would lose by unanimous decision to Canadian Sean Pierson. The other loss, the first of his career, took place in June of last year at UFC on FX 3 with a split decision defeat at the hands of Seth Baczynski. His only win went down at UFN 25 in September 2011 with a decision over Matt Riddle.