Late Wednesday night, a pivotal middleweight shootout between Gegard Mousasi (pictured) and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was announced as UFC 176’s co-main event.
DailyNews.com first reported the matchup, which was subsequently confirmed by UFC officials.
Mousasi is 17 days removed from disposing of Mark Muonz in Germany. “The Dreamcatcher” has only lost once in his past nine outings.
Souza will be riding a six-fight winning streak into the battle. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion was most recently seen in February posting a unanimous decision victory over Francis Carmont.
Mousasi posted a KO victory over the Brazilian at Dream 6 in 2008.
The August 2 event takes place inside Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Featherweight king Jose Aldo defends his throne against Chad Mendes in the night’s featured attraction.
Here is the show’s current lineup:
Zach Makovsky vs. Jussier Formiga
Gray Maynard vs. Fabricio Camoes
Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler
Derek Brunson vs. Lorenz Larkin
Tony Ferguson vs. Danny Castillo
Bobby Green vs. Abel Trujillo
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
Chad Mendes vs. Jose Aldo (UFC featherweight champion)