Leonardo Vieira black belt and jiu-jitsu world champion with and without the gi, Robert Drysdale is finally set to make his UFC debut. He will compete as a light heavyweight and will face Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163. The Las Vegas Review Journal was the first to report the news.
UFC 163 takes place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 3rd. The pay-per-view event is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and challenger Anthony Pettis.
Drysdale is 6-0 in professional MMA bouts, having first competed in July of 2010. All of his bouts have been won by first-round submission. He most recently submitted D.J. Linderman Legacy Fighting Championships 19 in April.
The jiu-jitsu world champion’s most notable accomplishments include winning the gold medal in the absolute division of the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, the IBJJF World Championships in the black belt division in 2005, the 2005 Copa Mundo and numerous other titles.
Oliveira last competed at UFC 142 in January of 2012 where he lost to Gabriel Gonzaga by first-round submission. 13-1-1 with 1 no-contest in MMA.