Minotauro faces Brendan Schaub at UFC Rio

Rodrigo Minotauro

After much speculation and behind-the-scenes conversations, it is confirmed: Rodrigo Minotauro faces Brendan Schaub at UFC Rio, an event scheduled to take place on August 27th, in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. The confirmation was made, on Monday afternoon, by the North American athlete through his Twitter.

“He wanted a fight and now he has it. Brendan Schaub e Rodrigo Minotauro is confirmed for Rio”, the North American posted on the microblog.

The rivalry between Schaub and Minotuaro began when Brendan, who is a former American football player, with stints at the Utah Blaze and Buffalo Bills, stated his interest in facing the Brazilian at UFC Rio. Minotauro did not let it go unnoticed and, by SUPER FIGHTS, stated that, if the fight was confirmed, the duel “would not be as easy as against Cro Cop” (remember here), last opponent defeated by the North American.

Schaub, who has a record of eight wins and just one loss, is on a streak of four consecutive victories, the last being over the legend Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 128, an event held in March this year. Minotauro, who has been away from the Octagon since February 2010 due to rib and knee injuries, has a professional record of 32 wins, six losses and one draw. The Brazilian black belt comes from a setback in his last performance, to Cain Velazquez, at UFC 110, held in February 2010.

With the announcement of the fight, Rodrigo Minotauro is the ninth Brazilian confirmed at UFC 134, also called UFC Rio, an event that will have as its main attraction the duel between Anderson Silva e Yushin Okami, a fight valid for the organization's middleweight belt.

Check out the full show card below:

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami (fight valid for the middleweight belt);

Forrest griffin vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua;

Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub;

Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson;

Luiz “Banha” Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov;

Tom Lawlor vs. Opponent not yet defined;

Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago tavares;

Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira vs. Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares;

David Mitchell vs. Paulo thiago;