Shooto Champ ‘Beicao’ Inks UFC Deal, Replaces Swick in Rio

Shooto 168-pound world champion Luis “Beicao” Ramos has joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship and will make his Octagon debut against Brazilian countryman Erick Silva at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro.

While not officially announced by the promotion, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras confirmed Monday to Sherdog.com that his fighter has entered the UFC welterweight ranks. Word of Ramos’ signing was first reported by Brazilian website Tatame.com.

Ramos takes the place of the injured Mike Swick, who was forced to withdraw from his bout with Silva last week after suffering tears of both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee.

An MMA veteran of nearly a decade, the 30-year-old Beicao has lost only one of his last seven starts, a contentious unanimous decision defeat to UFC vet Roan “Jucao” Carneiro last October. Since then, Ramos has won three in a row, conquering Watch Out Combat Show’s one-night April tourney before recording a July 23 throttling of Dimitri Burgos.

Silva, 27, will also make his first trip to the Octagon in Rio. Widely considered one of Brazil’s finest prospects, the X-Gym representative claimed the welterweight title of top Brazilian promotion Jungle Fight last October by submitting Gil de Freitas and Francisco Ayon in a single evening. Silva has finished nine of his 12 victims and has not been halted in 13 professional outings.

UFC 134 goes down Aug. 27 at Rio’s 14,000-seat HSBC Arena, headlined by a UFC middleweight title bout between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Yushin Okami.