On Monday afternoon, the UFC announced two fights for their return trip to Brazil. A light heavyweight bout between Fabio Maldonado (Pictured) and Stanislav Nedkov, as well as a welterweight scrap with Siyar Bahadurzada and Erick Silva were both added to the January 14th show.
Maldonado had his 11-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing when he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Kyle Kingsbury at “The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale” in June.
Nedkov made his big league debut by scoring a 1stRound TKO win over Luis Cane at UFC 134. He owns an unblemished 12-0 resume, with 10 of his victories coming via devastating finish.
Speaking of Octagon rookies, Bahadurzada makes his much-anticipated premiere in the UFC while enjoying a six-fight winning streak. The former Shooto star beat Tommy Depret via TKO in May.
Silva won his first fight for the promotion in resounding fashion by knocking out Luis Ramos in 40 seconds at UFC 134. The youngster is perfect through his last nine contests.
The UFC is still determining which city and venue will host the fiesta, however Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena is the current frontrunner to win the bid.
A featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes headlines the pay-per-view broadcast.
Here is the card’s updated roster:
Stanislav Nedkov vs. Fabio Maldonado
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Erick Silva
Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares
Terry Etim vs. Edson Barboza
Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Chad Mendes vs. Jose Aldo (UFC Featherweight Champion)