The UFC makes its return to Brazil in January with UFC on FX: Belfort vs Bisping.
The twelve fight card is headlined by a middleweight contest between Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping. It’s very possible that the winner of this fight will be given a shot at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Michael Bisping has been hovering around the title picture, but has yet to fight for UFC gold. A win over Belfort would all but guarantee he receives a shot against Silva. Belfort is currently 2-1 in the middleweight division in his latest run with the promotion and has been around the title picture at both middleweight and light heavyweight.
The full card is below…
Main Card
Vitor Belfort vs Michael Bisping
C.B. Dollaway vs Daniel Sarafian
Ben Rothwell vs Gabriel “Napão” Gonzaga
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs ThiagoTavares
Preliminary Card
Godofredo Pepey vs Miltinho Vieira
Andrew Craig vs Ronny Markes
Nik Lentz vs Diego Nunes
Justin Salas vs Edson Barboza
Michael Kuiper vs Thiago “Bodão” Perpetuo
George Roop vs Yuri “Marajó” Alcantara
Roger Hollett vs Wagner “Caldeirão” Prado
C.J. Keith vs Franciso Trinaldo
The preliminary card is also pretty interesting. There are some solid prospects in compelling match ups. Nik Lentz has recreated himself at featherweight and looks to work his way to a title shot. A win over Diego Nunes will put him on the road to the belt.
Then there is Andrew Craig, the 26 year old fighting out of Houston. He’s currently 2-0 in the UFC and one of the best young fighters in the middleweight division. His opponent, Ronny Markes, is 24 years old and 2-0 in the UFC as well. Markes is a teammate of UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo.
The UFC has not yet announced where the card will take place.
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