Tom Lawlor vs. Maiquel Falcao likely for UFC: Rio in August

A promising Middleweight bout between Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao and “The Filthy Mauler” Tom Lawlor is currently in the works for UFC 134: Rio in August.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the match-up, which has been confirmed by sources close to the development.

Falcao (26-3) made his promotional debut last November at UFC 123, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Gerald Harris to improve his current win streak to eight.  He was expected to return to the octagon against Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3, but was forced to withdraw due to a nagging hand injury.  A member of the famed Chute Boxe Academy, 23 of Falcao’s 26 professional victories have come via first-round stoppage.

Lawlor (7-3), meanwhile, was last seen outpointing Patrick Cote at UFC 121 in October.  The victory put the Team Quest fighter back in the win column after having dropped consecutive losses against Joe Doerksen and Aaron Simpson.  Prior to the defeats, the TUF 8 alum won two-straight outings over C.B. Dollaway and Kyle Kingsbury.

UFC 134: Rio is set to take place August 27th from the the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The landmark card will be headlined by a Middleweight title fight between division Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva and challenger Yushin “Thunder” Okami and will mark the promotion’s first trip back to Brazil since 1998.

Photo: Tom Lawlor at the UFC 100 weigh-ins at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 10, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker