UFC 146: Cigano defends belt against Mir this Saturday on a heavyweight card

With a strong card, the Brazilian junior gypsy puts the Ultimate heavyweight belt at stake for the first time this Saturday (26). The Tupiniquim champion faces the North American Frank mir in the main fight of UFC 146, an event to be held in Las Vegas, in the United States.

junior gypsy (left) stares Frank mir (right) in the fight valid for the UFC heavyweight belt

After knocking out Cain Velazquez in the first edition of UFC on FOX, in November 2011, junior gypsy He won the event's most prestigious belt and confirmed his reputation as a phenomenon in the sport. In just five years of his career, the Brazilian scored 14 victories and reached the top of the organization. But this Saturday, Cigano will have a difficult mission: Avenge his mentor, Rodrigo Minotauro, who was defeated by Mir on two occasions, the last time in October 2011. Without worrying about responsibility, the champion says that his main motivation is to remain at the top of the heavyweight division for a long time.

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“My biggest motivation is that I love being who I am. I love being champion and I want to stay that way for a long time,” she declared. “Wanting to stay at the top motivates me and keeps me focused on my training,” said Cigano, who provoked his opponent. “I'm going to knock out the Frank mir in the second round”, he added.

In turn, Mir, who was hastily summoned to replace alistair overeem in the title fight, he celebrates the chance to win a title in the category for the third time and announces the danger of his jiu-jitsu. “I saw great fights and fought on great cards, but this is the biggest fight of my career”, he celebrates. “Junior is a dangerous boxer, but when he hits the ground, he will be finished.”

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CURIOSITY: For the first time, all five main battles of the night will feature heavyweights. In total, there are around 1.100 kilos, distributed among ten major powers in the UFC's heaviest division.

Pezão debuts in the UFC against Velasquez
In the second most important fight of the night, Antonio Pezão UFC debut against a quarry. The Brazilian faces the former champion Cain Velazquez. UFC president Dana White announced that the winner of this fight will be the next challenger for the heavyweight title.

Other Brazilians on the fight program
Beyond the heavyweights junior gypsy e Antonio Pezão, the UFC 146 fight program also features three more Brazilians in action: Diego Brandao, winner of TUF 14, faces Darren Elkins, Edson Barboza defends his unbeaten record in MMA against Jamie Varner and Glover Teixeira debuts in the UFC against Kyle Kingsbury.

Check out the complete UFC 146 card below, which will be broadcast on the Combate channel from 20pm. The main fight between junior gypsy e Frank mir will be shown on Rede Globo.

Main Card
Up to 120 kg.: junior gypsy (108,5 kg.) vs. Frank mir (118,4 kg.)
Up to 120 kg.: Antonio Pezão (119,8 kg.) vs. Cain Velazquez (109 kg.)
Up to 120 kg.: Dave Herman (105,7 kg.) vs. Roy Nelson (115,3 kg.)
Up to 120 kg.: Shane Del Rosario (111,6 kg.) vs. Stipe Miocic (111 kg.)
Up to 120 kg.: Lavar Johnson (112,5 kg.) vs. Stefan struve (115,7 kg.)

Preliminary Card
Up to 66 kg.: Diego Brandao (66 kg.) vs. Darren Elkins (66 kg.)
Up to 70 kg.: Edson Barboza (70 kg.) vs. Jamie Varner (70,5 kg.)
Up to 84 kg.: CB Dollaway (84,5 kg.) vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller (84 kg.)
Up to 77 kg.: Dan Hardy (77 kg.) vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig (77,6 kg.)
Up to 70 kg.: Paul Sass (70,5 kg.) vs. Jacob Volkmann (70 kg.)
Up to 93 kg.: Kyle Kingsbury (93 kg.) vs. Glover Teixeira (92,6 kg.)
Up to 66 kg.: Mike Brown (66 kg.) vs. Daniel Pineda (66,5 kg.)