Strikeforce Champions to Compete in UFC in Brazil
Multiple sources have announced that two Strikeforce
champions will be taking to the cage when the UFC heads back to Brazil in May.
According to MMAFighting, the event will likely be billed as “UFC on FX8” and
will be fought at Arena Jaragua in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Tatame broke the
news on February 14.
The two Strikeforce champions competing both earned their
belts in the middleweight division. Vitor Belfort will be taking on Luke
Rockhold in the event. Rockhold got the Strikeforce middleweight division belt
in September of 2011 in a fight against Ronaldo Souza.
Souza will be fighting in the same event, as well, against
Constantinos Philippou. Philippou will come into the match on the heels of five
wins. His last win was over Tim Boetsch in UFC 155, which he took with a TKO. The
fight was a lucky opportunity for Philippou, who got to take on Boetsch because
his teammate had an injury that prevented him from competing. Philippou was
formerly a boxer before heading into the world of MMA and is well regarded as a
powerful striker.
Souza is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, known for his
submissions, who is also coming off of a winning streak in his last three
fights. Before Strikeforce packed it up, he took Ed Herman in the last event
held in that promotion.
The UFC hasn’t made any official statements announcing the
fights, but they are expected to be on their way shortly. The event will take
the UFC to the home nation of some of its best fighters and, with two
middleweight champions competing in separate fights, it promises to be an
interesting evening in Brazil. The event is slated for May 18 of this year. For
fight fans, May promises to be an excellent month, as UFC 160 will be held over
Memorial Day weekend, as well.
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