The UFC’s third event on FOX Sports 1 is headed to Brazil with a trio of fights being reported for the night’s card. Glover Teixeira (21-2, 4-0 UFC) will battle Ryan Bader (15-3, 8-3 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout that could serve as the night’s main event, Yushin Okami (29-7, 13-4 UFC) will meet Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza (18-3 1 NC, 1-0 UFC) in a middleweight bout, and Joseph Benavidez (18-3, 5-1 UFC) will square off with Jussier Formiga (15-2, 1-1 UFC) in flyweight action.
Portal do Vale Tudo first reported the Teixeira-Bader and Okami-Souza bookings while Globo.com first reported the Benavidez-Formiga booking over the week. The Portal do Vale Tudo report also stated the event would take place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which hosted UFC 147 in June 2012.
Teixeira and Bader were scheduled to meet at UFC 160 in May, but Bader was forced out of the bout due to injury. Teixeira went on submit James Te Huna at the event, extending his UFC win streak to four straight and his overall win streak to 19 straight. Bader has won three of his last four after losing two straight, which were the first two losses of his career.
Okami and Souza were talked about for a fight following Souza’s successful UFC debut where he submitted Chris Camozzi at UFC On FX 8 in May. Souza will enter the fight riding a four-fight win streak, and he has won eight of his last nine fights. Okami lost a UFC Middleweight Championship bout to Anderson Silva in August 2011, and then suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in his career when Tim Boetsch defeated him in February 2012. Okami has since won three straight fights to get back into title contention, and will be coming in off a win over Hector Lombard at UFC On FUEL TV 8 in March.
Benavidez has won two straight fights since dropping a decision to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 152 in September to determine the UFC’s first-ever flyweight champion. A decision win over Ian McCall at UFC 156 in February followed by a knockout win over Darren Uyenoyama at UFC On FOX 7 in April has put Benavidez back into the title hunt. Formiga will enter the fight following his first UFC win after taking a decision against Chris Cariaso at UFC On FX 8 in May. Formiga has won six of his last seven fights.
UFC On FOX Sports 1 #3 will take place on September 4 and serve as the lead-in for season 18 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, which will be coached by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey and her rival, Miesha Tate.
