Paulo Thiago to face Mike Pyle at UFC 142 in Brazil

Former welterweight contender Paulo Thiago appears set to fight Mike Pyle at UFC 142, a show confirmed to go ahead in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 14, 2012. Though not confirmed by UFC officials, if the bout takes place as expected it would mark his second consecutive clash in Brazil after beating David Mitchell a few months back at UFC 134.

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News of the match-up was first reported by Tatame.

Thiago, who would be the eighth Brazilian on the card thus far, will enter the Octagon with a 14-3 record. Despite having only won a single time in his last three fights, the Brazilian special forces member holds a notable submission victory over Mike Swick and a first-frame knockout over Josh Koscheck, and is consistently a tough draw regardless of who he faces as evident by him never having been finished.

His opponent, Pyle, fights out of the Xtreme Couture camp and is currently coming off of a TKO loss to Canadian Rory MacDonald from this past August. The loss put an end to a three-fight winning streak during which he defeated Jiu-Jitsu ace Ricardo Almeida and British prospect John Hathaway.

UFC 142 is scheduled to be headlined by a featherweight title-fight between dominant champ Jose Aldo and American wrestler Chad Mendes. Other fights on the card include Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort and Sam Stout vs. Thiago Tavares.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC