Vitor Belfort-Alan Belcher, Renee Forte-Sergio Moraes Announced for UFC 153 in Rio
Vitor Belfort will face Alan Belcher in a middleweight duel at UFC 153, promotion officials recently announced.
Also added to the Oct. 13 card at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro was a welterweight tilt between “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” competitors Sergio Moraes and Renee Forte. The bouts were confirmed Wednesday on the UFC’s official Brazilian website.
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Belfort was supposed to face off with fellow “TUF Brazil” coach Wanderlei Silva last month at UFC 147, but “The Phenom” was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. Belfort has rebounded from his 2011 loss to Anderson Silva with a pair of wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.
Belcher has won four straight fights. The 28-year-old returned from eye surgery last September to defeat Jason MacDonald; most recently, he pounded out Brazilian leg-lock specialist Rousimar Palhares on May 5.
Forte and Moraes both saw their runs on “TUF Brazil” ended by Daniel Sarafian. While Forte was eliminated in the show’s quarterfinal round, Moraes met his demise in the semis. However, when Sarafian suffered an injury and could not compete against Cezar Ferreira at the live season finale, Moraes was called upon to take his spot. The grappling specialist was outpointed by Cezar “Mutante” at the June 23 event, marking his second loss in his last three sanctioned contests.
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