UFC’s trip to Natal, Brazil, is finally official, and three more bouts have been added to card, including a battle of The Ultimate Fighter winners.
Coming off a submission victory over William Patolino at the TUF: Brazil 2 finale, Leonardo Santos (12-3) returns to the lightweight division to take on TUF: Smashes winner Norman Parke (19-2) on March 23. Santos is 1-0 inside the Octagon, while Parke holds three decision victories under the UFC banner.
Gleison Tibau (28-10), who suffered a second-round knockout loss to Michael Johnson at UFC 168, has signed a new deal with the promotion, and will also return to the Octagon at the Fight Night card. The UFC veteran will fight for the 22nd time in the UFC as he signed to take on Mairbek Taisumov (21-4), who scored a decision win over Tae Hyun Bang in his UFC debut earlier this month.
Another fight set for the card is Thiago Perpetuo vs. Kenny Robertson. Perpetuo (9-2-1) decided to move down to the welterweight division following a knockout loss to Omari Akhmedov last November, while Robertson (12-3) looks to get back on track after dropping a majority decision against Sean Pierson last July.
Multiple sources close to situation confirmed the fights to MMAFighting.com, following reports from PVT and Combate.
The UFC Fight Night take place at the Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Brazil, on March 23. A rematch between Mauricio Rua and Dan Henderson will headline the card.
The current fight card is the following:
Maurício Rua vs. Dan Henderson
Cezar Ferreira vs. CB Dollaway
Rony Jason vs. Steven Siler
Leonardo Santos vs. Norman Parke
Gleison Tibau vs. Mairbek Taisumov
Fabio Maldonado vs. Gian Villante
Jussier Formiga vs. Scott Jorgensen
Ronny Markes vs. Thiago Santos
Thiago Perpetuo vs. Kenny Robertson