‘Rumble’ Moves to Middleweight, Faces Belfort in Rio at UFC 142
Welterweight standout Anthony
“Rumble” Johnson will move up the scale in January to take on
recent middleweight contender Vitor
Belfort in Belfort’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro.
UFC officials announced Tuesday that Johnson (Pictured) and Belfort have agreed to meet at UFC 142, an event not yet announced but expected to take place Jan. 14 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
On Monday, the promotion confirmed that featherweight champion Jose Aldo will defend his belt against unbeaten prospect Chad Mendes on the same card.
Johnson’s move to 185 pounds comes as little surprise, since the 6-foot-2 wrestler had struggled with the cut to 170 in the past, even missing weight by 6 pounds for an October 2009 bout with Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The change comes on the heels of a major win by the 27-year-old Georgia native, who took out surging welterweight Charlie Brenneman with a head kick on Oct. 1. Johnson is the owner of a 7-3 Octagon record which includes wins over Yoshida, Dan Hardy and Luigi Fioravanti.
A onetime UFC light heavyweight titleholder, Belfort has gone 2-1 in his most recent Octagon stint. The 34-year-old Brazilian was dispatched in stunning fashion by a front kick from middleweight ruler Anderson Silva in February, but the heavy-handed “Phenom” rebounded with a crushing Aug. 6 knockout of Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama.
UFC officials announced Tuesday that Johnson (Pictured) and Belfort have agreed to meet at UFC 142, an event not yet announced but expected to take place Jan. 14 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
On Monday, the promotion confirmed that featherweight champion Jose Aldo will defend his belt against unbeaten prospect Chad Mendes on the same card.
Johnson’s move to 185 pounds comes as little surprise, since the 6-foot-2 wrestler had struggled with the cut to 170 in the past, even missing weight by 6 pounds for an October 2009 bout with Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The change comes on the heels of a major win by the 27-year-old Georgia native, who took out surging welterweight Charlie Brenneman with a head kick on Oct. 1. Johnson is the owner of a 7-3 Octagon record which includes wins over Yoshida, Dan Hardy and Luigi Fioravanti.
A onetime UFC light heavyweight titleholder, Belfort has gone 2-1 in his most recent Octagon stint. The 34-year-old Brazilian was dispatched in stunning fashion by a front kick from middleweight ruler Anderson Silva in February, but the heavy-handed “Phenom” rebounded with a crushing Aug. 6 knockout of Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama.
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