Former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua (24-10 MMA, 8-8 UFC) will return to the octagon after it was announced he will fight Gian Villante (16-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 107 which takes place March 11 at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil.
‘Shogun’ Rua has only fought twice in the last two years and enters the bout on the back of consecutive decision victories which includes a unanimous decision win at UFC 190 over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in 2015 and a split decision victory over Corey Anderson last year gave him back to back victories for the first time since 2009.
The 35-year olds return to the Octagon will mark his fifth straight fight in Brazil however Villante will be hoping to spoil the homecoming and his chance of making it three wins on the bounce.
Villante who is a training partner of former middleweight champion Chris Weidman is coming off a second round TKO victory in his home state of New York over promotional debutant Saparbek Safarov. The American has won four of his last six bouts claiming three ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses along the way including his most recent victory at UFC Fight Night 102 little over a month ago.
With the addition of Rua vs Villante, the UFC Fight Night 107 lineup is as followed so far:
Vitor Belfort vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Edson Barboza vs. Beneil Dariush
Mauricio Rua vs. Gian Villante
