Vitor Belfort To Face Alan Belcher At UFC 153 In Rio

A middleweight clash between fellow sluggers Vitor Belfort (21-9) and Alan Belcher (18-6) comes as the latest addition to October's UFC 153.


Brazilian media outlet Tatame first reported the bout on Tuesday and Belfort later confirmed the booking in a Twitter post. 


UFC 153 takes place on October 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is headlined by a featherweight title clash between reigning champ Jose Aldo and fellow WEC vet Erik Koch. A light heavyweight scrap between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Glover Teixeira is also booked for the fall card.


After completing the first international season of The Ultimate Fighter — The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil — last month, Belfort was scheduled to square off with opposing coach Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147, however, was forced to the sidelines with a hand injury. "The Phenom" is currently riding back-to-back stoppage victories over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson and has gone 3-1 since returning to the UFC in 2009 — his lone loss coming at the hands of middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.


Belcher, meanwhile, is enjoying a streak of his own, having won four-straight. After suffering a near-career-ending eye injury in 2010, "The Talent" has since returned to action in impressive fashion, stopping both Jason MacDonald and Rousimar Palhares each in the first round. 


(Pictured: Vitor Belfort)