Timothy Johnson, Joseph Morales, and Anthony Smith will make the trip to Brazil early next year.
The UFC announced a trio of bouts over the weekend for its upcoming UFC Fight Night 125 card. Also known as UFC Belem, the card, which takes place February 3, has gained a heavyweight scrap, among others. That bout will feature American Timothy Johnson heading into enemy territory against Brazil’s own Louis Henrique. The promotion released the news via it’s Brazilian website.
Henrique (10–4 (1)) has lost two straight, and is coming off a loss at UFC 215 to Indo-Canadian Arjan Bhullar. Overall, the Brazilian is 2-3 in the UFC.
Minnesota’s Timothy Johnson, fighting out of North Dakota, has flip-flopped with wins and losses since joining the UFC in 2015. Despite holding wins over Shamil Abdurakhimov and Marcin Tybura, both of whom have headlined UFC cards, Johnson has failed to find his rhythm yet. He enters UFC Belem off a loss to another Brazilian heavyweight, Júnior Albini, in July.
Also added to the UFC Belem card, Anthony Smith (28–12) will face Thiago Santos (16–5) in middleweight action. Smith has won three straight, picking up victories over Elvis Mutapcic, TUF winner Andrew Sanchez, and most recently, Hector Lombard. Santos, for his part, is also on a three fight run, winning all three of his bouts in 2017. Last time out, at UFC Fight Night 119 in October, he scored a TKO over Jack Hermansson.
Finally, flyweights Deiveson Figueiredo (13-0) and Joseph Morales (9-0) have been added to the event. Somebody’s 0 has got to go in this one, and Mexico’s Morales will be coming off his promotional debut, a submission win over Roberto Sanchez in August. Figueiredo, with a hair’s width more experience, has won both his bouts in the UFC to date.
UFC Belem, a.k.a. UFC Fight Night 125, takes place in Belem, Brazil at the Arena Guilherme Paraense on February 3.
