Luiz Cane faces Stanislav Nedkov at "UFC: Rio"

The fights keep piling in.

Luiz Cane, at one point thought to be one of the top dogs in the light heavyweight division, will continue his return to the top come this August as he returns for “UFC 134: Rio” opposite of promotional newcomer, Stanislav Nedkov.

UFC 134 takes place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero, Brazil when the promotion returns to the mixed martial arts mecca for the first time since 1998, and is bringing back a stellar card which will feature some of the more notable fighters to come out of their native country, including pound-for-pound best Anderson Silva, as he returns to defend his middleweight crown against top contender Yushin Okami.

Now, Cane hopes to build upon a recent victory this past March with a possible win over Nedkov. Though Stanislav is new to the cage, he is no pushover and has the proper credentials to be a force in the division.

Luiz was last seen inside the cage this past March when he met with the returning Eliot Marshall at UFC 128. Marshall was a late replacement for an injured Karlos Vemola, though still posed a threat as he was a 4-time UFC veteran whom held a 3-1 record inside the cage before his sudden exit from the promotion last year. Cane made quick work of Eliot, catching the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt early with a strong left hand. A methodical two-minute assault finally called an end to the bout, inside of the first round. The win helped Cane return from a two-fight skid which saw the Brazilian slugger succumb to knockout losses to PRIDE veterans Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Cyrille Diabate, respectively.

Now, Cane will be welcoming in Stanislav Nedkov into the UFC come August 27th, and while the Bulgarian is a newbie to the octagon, he has seen his fair share of stiff competition overseas. Nedkov, 29, is undefeated in his professional career, and was last seen in action in May of last year when he submitted Romanian Helgiy Augustin Eygen, with a first-round rear-naked choke. The win helped propel his record to a perfect 11-0, and during this stretch, Stanislav has recorded notable wins over UFC veteran Travis Wiuff (third-round TKO) and former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman, out grappling the former collegiate great en route to a contentious split-decision win. Both bouts took place under the Sengoku banner in 2009.

Stanislav was said to make his UFC debut in August of 2010 against Rodney Wallace at UFC 117, though subsequent injuries botched those plans. Then, Nedkov was to make his official foray into the cage at UFC 120 last October against former WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell, though “The Robot” suffered a knee-injury in the waning moments leading up to the fight. With no suitable replacement, the fight was called off and Stanislav’s run of bad luck was still underway.

Hopefully now, we will be able to see the Bulgarian in action, but will ring rust play a factor?

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the match-up? It’s a classic “striker vs. grappler” bout. Cane has proved to be one of the more hard hitting fighters in his division, though Nedkov does possess power in both hands, it’s his wrestling that has been his bread and butter, aiding him in his unblemished 11-fight career. Sound off in the comment section below.