The Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) seventh offering on FX, UFC on FX 7: "Belfort vs. Bisping," airs live and free Jan. 19, 2013, on FX Networks in the United States and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada.
The event is headlined by a middleweight contenders bout between longtime UFC veterans Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping. The winner will move one step forward in their quest towards a title shot and in Bisping's case, UFC President Dana White has guaranteed "The Count" a title shot should he be able to defeat "The Phenom" in his home country.
Bisping (23-4) last fought at UFC 152 this past September in Toronto where he defeated Brian Stann by unanimous decision. The British fighter has won five of his last six bouts with the lone loss coming to two-time middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen. Bisping will attempt to make a claim at the No. 1 contender spot at 185-pounds with a win.
Belfort (21-10) also competed at UFC 152 but came out on the wrong end of submission loss to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in a fight where the Brazilian moved up a weight class. Belfort nearly upset Jones with a first-round armbar before the champion beat Belfort in the fourth round. Belfort returns to middleweight where he holds a 3-1 record with the lone defeat coming to divisional champion Anderson Silva.
After the recent UFC 155 event last month in Las Vegas, UFC play-by-play man Joe Rogan and color commentator Jon Anik broke down the middleweight contest that is set to serve as the main event from Ginasio Estadual Geraldo Jose de Almeida in Sao Paulo, Brazil.