Fabio Maldonado
Unbeaten Brazilian replaces Nedkov on preliminary card
The recently injury-plagued UFC 142 card in Rio got its latest change Sunday.
Unbeaten Brazilian Caio Magalhaes will make his UFC debut in his home country against Fabio Maldonado in a light heavyweight bout. The UFC announced the new bout on its Brazilian Twitter feed.
Magalhaes (5-0) steps in for Stanislov Nedkov, who earlier this month was taken off the card with an injury. Magalhaes won a split decision against Ismael de Jesus earlier this month at a Shooto Brazil event, making him 2-0 in 2011. All five of the 24-year-old’s pro fights have been in his native Brazil.
Maldonado (18-4, 1-1 UFC), a student of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Brazil, returns for the first time since a Fight of the Night loss to Kyle Kingsbury at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Maldonado was booked for a fight against Aaron Rosa on October’s UFC on Versus 6 card, but had to pull out with an injury. His loss to Kingsbury was his first since November 2007, snapping an 11-fight winning streak.
UFC 142 will be the promotion’s second trip to Rio de Janeiro since August, when it returned to Brazil for the first time in nearly 13 years. Headlining the pay-per-view card is a featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and unbeaten Team Alpha Male product Chad Mendes. In the co-main event, Anthony Johnson makes his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort. Each of the 11 fights so far booked for the card features a Brazilian fighter.