The upcoming UFC event in Brazil has seen the addition of two more bouts as welterweights Paulo Thiago (14-3) vs. Mike ‘Quicksand’ Pyle (21-8-1), and heavyweights Rob ‘The Bear’ Broughton (15-7-1) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (13-0-1, 1NC) have all agreed to meet at the upcoming Rio card.
The announcement was made on Tuesday (Nov. 29, 2011) at UFC.com.
Skilled contenders Paulo Thiago and Mike Pyle will meet in a welterweight battle, as “Quicksand” will enter Thiago’s home territory at UFC 142.
A heavyweight bout on the undercard completes the Brazil card’s lineup, as undefeated Brazilian Ednaldo Oliveira has agreed to make his UFC debut against the U.K’s Rob “The Bear” Broughton.
Thiago will make his second straight appearance in front of his fellow Brazilians having competed at last August’s UFC 134 event against David Mitchell. There Thiago would earn a unanimous decision against his opponent, ending a two fight losing skid which saw him drop matches to Diego Sanchez at UFC 121 and to Martin Kampmann at UFC 115.
Pyle was also in action in August, losing by first round TKO to Rory MacDonald at UFC 133. The defeat ended a three fight win streak for ‘Quicksand’ which saw him defeat Ricardo Almeida at UFC 128, John Hathaway at UFC 120, and Jesse Lennox at UFC 115. So far in the UFC, Pyle is just 4-3 since making his debut back in May 2009.
I’m definitely picking Thiago to win this fight, he’s a very tough fighter who has only been defeated by top guys such as Sanchez, Kampmann and Jon Fitch over his career.
Broughton is looking at a possible pink slip after losing both of his bouts with the top promotion. He debuted this past September in Colorado against Travis Browne at UFC 135. ‘The Bear’ would lose a unanimous decision and then go on to lose by the same result to Philip De Fries a month-and-a-half later at UFC 138 in his native England. The former M-1 fighter had entered the UFC on a five fight win streak.
Oliveira is undefeated in his career which started back in 2005, having finished ten of his thirteen opponents by submission or by decision. This bout with Broughton will be Oliveira’s UFC debut, and as such will probably carry a lot of pressure for the Brazilian fighter. He competed six times in 2011, going 5-0-1, with four (T)KO finishes, one unanimous decision, and one “No Contest” due to an eye poke.
If UFC 134 was any indication as to what foreign fighters coming into Brazil can expect, I don’t think Broughton has much of a prayer and is being thrown to the wolves on this one. He could still pull of a victory knowing that his back is against the wall, but there is just too much stacked against him on this one in my opinion.