Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is quickly assembling its next "Fight Night" event in Brazil, and leading the charge -- at least for the time being -- is a light heavyweight mash-up pitting Brazilian boxer Fabio Maldonado against Strikeforce import Gian Villante.
The event is tentatively scheduled for late March inside the Nelio Dias Gymnasium in Natal, according to MMA Fighting (via MMA Sun).
Maldonado (20-6) was on the verge of being released after three consecutive losses; however, the scrappy striker was able to persevere and battle back to secure back-to-back wins over Roger Hollett at UFC on FX 8 and Joey Beltran at UFC Fight Night 29.
And he's not the only one back in the win column.
Villante (11-4) was riding a three-fight winning streak inside the Hexagon, only to come up short against fellow Strikeforce graduate Ovince St. Preux last April. The Bellmore banger quickly erased the bad memory of his Octagon debut by beating the brakes off Cody Donovan at UFC 167.
Should be fireworks.
No other fights have been announced for this upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) card and details surrounding the event are still being ironed out. Keep it locked in to MMAmania.com for all the relevant information, once it becomes available.
Stay tuned.