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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC officially announced on Saturday a 12-fight card for their return to Brazil this January, and confirmed a rumored bout between Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort as the night's headliner.
Belfort heads back down to the middleweight division after his loss to Jon Jones in September. He took the fight on short notice, as the UFC needed a new opponent for Jones after Dan Henderson got injured. Belfort nearly pulled off a first round submission, but was ultimately submitted himself in the fourth round.
Bisping hopes another win will finally put him in line for a title fight that has eluded him in his long UFC career. He picked up perhaps his most impressive win in September, defeating Brian Stann by decision after putting forth a very good performance, and a win over Belfort could be huge in getting him a title fight.
The UFC confirmed several reported fights for the card, as well as announcing the rest of the field. The event doesn't yet have a host city or venue, and broadcast plans haven't yet been revealed, but it's expected to take place on FX with the prelims on Fuel. The full 12-fight card is below:
Main Card
Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
C.B. Dollaway vs. Daniel Sarafian
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Thiago Tavares
Preliminary Card
Godofredo Castro vs. Milton Vieira
Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes
Nik Lentz vs. Diego Nunes
Edson Barboza vs. Justin Salas
Michael Kuiper vs. Thiago Perpetuo
Yuri Alcantara vs. George Roop
Roger Hollett vs. Wagner Prado
Francisco Trinaldo vs. C.J. Keith
[Michael Bisping art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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