Ricardo Arona next fight against Marvin Eastman at Bitetti Combat on Sept. 12

by Stefan Manojlovic on Jul 5, 2009 7:13 PM EDT

Former Pride FC star and grappling phenom Ricardo Arona (13-5) is set to make his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts competition against UFC veteran Marvin Eastman (16-9-1) at Bitetti Combat from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sept. 12, according to Super Latas.

The multiple-time ADCC Submissions wrestling champion Arona has not competed since April 2007, which was a losing effort to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at Pride 34 "Kamikaze." Arona was on the receiving end of a brutal knockout and, in the process, added to the hype of the young brash newcomer at the time.

He’ll attempt to erase that memory and get back on track with a win over Eastman and possibly look to move onto a bigger organization if he’s successful. In fact, he’s had his eyes set on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for a while and even claimed "the UFC rules were made for him."

The promotion, however, hasn’t expressed any interest in picking him up just yet. He’ll likely have to rack up a few wins to clamber up the light heavyweight ladder to get noticed again. Or perhaps a return to "The Land of the rising Sun" is a more viable option, seeing as the country has hosted all of his previous 18 fights.

His opponent, Eastman, washed out of the UFC last June when he was victimized by Drew McFedries at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale 7. He would then go on to lose his next bout after that to Denis Kang late last year. He managed to turn his luck around this year with an impressive technical knockout win over Aron Loft at MFC 21: "Hard Knocks."

"The Beastman" now takes a step up in competition against the likes of Arona, in what should present an interesting styles clash with Eastman likely looking to brawl it out while Arona probably would like to get things to the mat quickly and work from there.

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Comments

Nice to see him getting back in there, and to see someone who actually took time off after taking a rough KO like that.

He will probably be well recovered and ready to go.

by DirtyML on Jul 5, 2009 7:23 PM EDT reply actions

Damn, Bitteti is comin thru big time. This is gonna be the sickest card in Brazil since a long while. Lil Nog, Arona, possibly vitor, Filho, Vianna, Teixeira, Vieira for you grappling fans, and prospect student of A silva – Maldonaldo.

by NameNotRequired on Jul 5, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely NNR! However, I doubt Vitor will be fighting on this card. Vitor has one fight left on his Affliction contract..once he satisfies his contract on Aug 1st, I really expect him to sign with the UFC…so I doubt he will have any time to fight is a small brazilian organization.

Brazil deserves a UFC Card really bad! Isnt mma sanctioned by athletic commission in Brazil? If so, I dont get why no big organizations hold events in Brazil. I know fans are rowdy and fights often break out in the stands….but that also happens in places like Hawaii, and they still hold events there.

Expect more then a few fights to break out in the stands at UFC 101 in Philly. My fellow Philadelphians JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO ACT!!!!

by JOhn G on Jul 6, 2009 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions

big fan of ricardo good news!

by Jared on Jul 5, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

He better destroy eastman. If McFedries destroyed eastman Arona should at least do as well. Tired of Arona sitting back and “getting his gym together” bs. He needs to be competing. His best years and flying by him.

by kukuxumusu on Jul 5, 2009 7:34 PM EDT reply actions

Eastman is a good wrestler though it might not be so easy for Arona to take it to the ground, cause that’s where he needs to be to win… He ain’t no standup guy

by RoB on Jul 5, 2009 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Great to see Arona back in action.

Would LOVE to see him in the UFC one day!

Marvin the Beastman is no CAN tho….

by SoCalStunNa on Jul 5, 2009 7:40 PM EDT reply actions

Wow, Ricardo is really challenging himself these days.

by Slap Nuts on Jul 5, 2009 7:46 PM EDT reply actions

Should be an easy win for Arona, Eastman is hardly a world class fighter, but it’ll be interesting to see what sort of shape Arona comes in. Some guys never recover from brutal KOs and the fact that it has taken so long for Arona to come back implies that that Soko loss was even more devastating than first thought. Arona needs a quick win and to look in good condition if he is going to have any hope of fighting in the UFC.

by David on Jul 5, 2009 8:08 PM EDT reply actions