The UFC will make their second trip to Brazil in 2013 on May 18th for UFC on FX 8 and the event will come from the Arena Jaragua in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
UFC officials confirmed the date and venue for the card today along with several of the fights that will take place on the card.
The main event, Vitor Belfort (22-10) will face Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (10-1) in a five round middleweight bout. Rockhold is currently on a nine fight winning streak and this will be his UFC debut. Since returning to the UFC, Belfort has won four of six and recently defeated Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7.
Along with with the five round middleweight main event, the UFC also announced today that the co-main event will also be in the middleweight division as former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (17-3, 1NC) will meet Constantinos Philippou (12-2. 1NC).
“This is the fourth Brazilian state that we have the joy of visiting and another great achievement for the UFC,” said Grace Tourinho, spokesperson for UFC in Brazil. “Brazilian fans still have many good things to expect from us in 2013, including live events, the next season of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil and the opening of a UFC headquarters in the country.”
The current UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold fight card is below:
Vitor Belfort (22-10) vs. Luke Rockhold (10-1)
Ronaldo Souza (17-3, 1NC) vs. Constantinos Philippou (12-2, 1NC)
CB Dollaway (13-4) vs. Cezar Ferreira (5-2)
Mike Rio (9-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (12-2)
Rafael dos Anjos (18-6) vs. Evan Dunham (14-3)
Lance Benoist (6-2) vs. Paulo Thiago (14-5)
Azamat Gashimov (7-2) vs. John Lineker (20-6)
Roger Hollett (13-4) vs. Fabio Maldonado (18-6)