Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo Souza Booked For UFC 176’s Co-Main Event
Six years after their first meeting in Japan, former Strikeforce champion’s Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo Souza are set to meet again.
The top 185 pounders first fought back in 2008 in the finale of Dream’s Middleweight Grand Prix. Mousasi emerged victorious that night by knocking “Jacare” out with a perfectly timed upkick to win the inaugural middleweight title. Souza now has the chance to take his revenge when the two meet in August.
The matchup was confirmed last night by UFC officials following a report first published by the Los Angeles Daily News.
UFC 176 takes place inside the Stales Center in Los Angeles, California on August 2. The main event will also feature a rematch as Team Alpha Males Chad Mendes will look to avenge 2012 loss to featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
The main card for the event will be available on pay-per-view (PPV) following the preliminary fights which will air on Fox Sports 1 as well as UFC Fight Pass.
The bout is a crucial one for the No.7 and No.4 ranked middleweights, who could very well find themselves with a UFC title shot if they manage to pull off the win. Mousasi has wasted no time in securing his next bout following his most recent first round submission over Mark Munoz at UFN 41.
The former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion is now 2-1 in his UFC career with his win over Munoz which rebounded him from a loss to “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida in February.
“Jacare” was last seen in action at UFC Fight Night 36 where he took a unanimous decision win over Francis Carmont. Following the bout the Brazilian revealed he would need at least six weeks to recover after suffering an injury in his training camp.
Souza’s win over Carmont puts him to 3-0 in the UFC after submitting Chris Camozzi in his debut last May, he followed that up with a first round knockout against Yushin Okami in September.
With the addition, UFC 176 now looks as followed:
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes – for featherweight title
Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo Souza
Danny Castillo vs. Tony Ferguson
Shayna Baszler vs. Bethe Correia
Jussier Formiga vs. Zach Makovsky
Fabricio Camoes vs. Gray Maynard
Derek Brunson vs. Lorenz Larkin
Bobby Green vs. Abel Trujillo
Walmir Lazaro vs. James Vick
