Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Robert Drysdale (6-0 MMA, 0-0
UFC) has signed with the UFC and will meet fellow light heavyweight Ednaldo
Oliveira (13-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 163.
UFC officials confirmed the fight by retweeting an
initial report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
UFC 163 takes place Aug. 3 at HSBC Arena in Rio de
Janeiro. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and
Facebook.
Drysdale vs. Oliveira likely will be part of the prelims.
Drysdale, a world champion grappler who was born in the
U.S. but spent much of his childhood in Brazil, made his official MMA debut in
2010. Recently, the black belt has competed for Legacy FC in Texas. All of six
of his pro wins have come via first-round submission, including an April
victory over Bellator vet D.J. Linderman.
Oliveira returns to action for the first time since UFC
142 in early 2012, when he suffered a submission loss to heavyweight Gabriel
Gonzaga in his promotional debut. Prior to that, the Brazilian striker had
posted eight knockouts in an undefeated start to his career. Recently injuries
have slowed his return to the cage.
The latest UFC 163 card now includes:
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis - for featherweight
title
Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
Josh Koscheck vs. Demian Maia
Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
Cezar Ferreira vs. Clint Hester
Robert Drysdale vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
(Source)
