There have been several bookings to the UFC: Rio card as well as a numerical designation. UFC: Rio is now UFC 134 and several fight bookings have been added to the event. Let's get to them.
UFC 134: ‘Shogun’ Rua Vs. Forrest Griffin, Paulo Thiago Vs. David Mitchell And Rousimar Palhares Booked
First, a major addition to the card. There will be a rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champions Forrest Griffin and Mauricio Rua:
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua originally came to the UFC in 2007 as the #1 light heavyweight in the world. He'd been Pride's rising star in the division since 2005 when he won their Middleweight (205lbs) Tournament by beating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. No one expected The Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin to have much of a chance against Shogun, but Forrest shocked the world by finishing Rua at UFC 76 and then going on to win the UFC title. Since then their individual fortunes have risen and fallen with both winning and quickly losing the championship belt. Now they meet again according to MMA Fighting:
Early Friday morning, UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout to MMA Fighting.
A welterweight fight has also been added to the card between one of Brazil's highest caliber fighters and law enforcement officers Paulo Thiago and American David Mitchell. Sherdog with the news:
Welterweight submission specialists Paulo Thiago and David Mitchell have agreed to square off UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro. Thiago informed Sherdog.com of the matchup on Monday evening.
“I’m signing my contract right now and I’m very happy,” said Thiago. “Fighting in Brazil again is like a dream. All my friends and family will be in Rio de Janeiro.”
Lastly, but certainly not least, middleweight submission specialist Rousimar Palhares is slated to appear on the card, but no opponent has yet been named. To wit:
Jiu-Jitsu ace Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares is another addiction to UFC Rio card, event that takes place at HSBC Arena on August 27th, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rousimar’s coach at Brazilian Top Team, Murilo Bustamante wrote on his Twitter that he’d had good news on his fighter, and TATAME learned with sources that Palhares will fight at UFC Rio, besides not having an opponent yet.
More on this card as it develops.
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