The UFC 153 event that’s slated for Rio de Janeiro on October 13th was finalized today with two additional bouts according to UFC officials. Former heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga will take on Geronimo dos Santos and TUF Brazil’s Francisco Trinaldo will face Gleison Tibau in a lightweight matchup.
The UFC 153 main event will consist of the UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo putting his title on the line against Erik Koch. The co-main event will feature a heavily anticipated middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Alan Belcher.
Gabriel Gonzaga (13-6) is coming into this bout off his submission win over Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142. Gonzaga has won back-to-back fights since losing to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121. He’ll be taking on Geronimo dos Santos who’ll be making his UFC debut. Dos Santos (34-14) has fought exclusively in Brazil during his career and has won 12 consecutive fights dating back to April 2011. He has only allowed two fights to go the distance and has 23 wins via TKO.
Francisco Trinaldo (11-1) will be making his second appearance in the UFC after defeating Delson Heleno in his debut at UFC 147. The TUF Brazil product has won five consecutive fights since losing to UFC veteran Yuri Alcantara in May 2010. He’ll be facing UFC veteran Gleison Tibau as a lightweight after competing on TUF Brazil as a middleweight. Gleison Tibau (25-8) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 148. Tibau had won three consecutive fights prior to the loss and five out of his last six. He’ll be looking to get back on the winning.
The fight card is below:
Main Card
- Jose Aldo vs. Erick Koch
- Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher
- Rampage Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira
- Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch
- Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Prelimary Card
- Rony Jason vs. Sam Sicilia
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Geronimo dos Santos
- Francisco Trinaldo vs. Gleison Tibau
- Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
- Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
- Luiz Cane vs. Chris Camozzi
- Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
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