By Mike Calimbas (Texas MMA Writer / Photographer) | Photo: UFC.com via Zuffa LLC, Getty Images
Johnny Bedford and Sean Spencer to face pair of Brazilians in Belo Horizonte this September
A pair of Dallas-based fighters will be making the trip down to Belo Horizonte, Brazil this September to take part in matchups as part of UFC on FOX Sports 1 – #3.
The event, slated for September 4th at the Mineirinho Arena (officially Estádio Jornalista Felipe Drumond, bigget indoor sporting arena in Brazil), features a light heavyweight matchup pitting Ryan Bader vs. Glover Teixeira and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza taking on Yushin Okami at middleweight.
As for the Texans in question, they’re two of DFW’s best in Fitness Fight Factory’s Johnny Bedford and Octagon MMA’s Sean Spencer.
Looking to rebound from his third round submission loss to Bryan Caraway at UFC 159, Johnny will be taking on Hugo Viana, an original cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil who’s currently 2-1 in his octagon appearances. Johnny Bedford won his previous three fights before his last one so he’ll no doubt be looking to gain some retribution in this one.
As for Sean Spencer, he’ll be making his return to the UFC octagon after making his debut on short notice (and in a higher weight class) against Rafael Natal this past January. With a fall camp behind him this time , “Black Magik” will be taking on another Brazilian in Yuri Bellifort, a fighter who at 22 years of age has a lot of promise but will be looking to avoid the dreaded three losses in a row versus the Dallas fighter. With both guys fighting for their UFC futures in one degree or another, look for this one to be an exciting and pivotal out for both men as well.
Here’s the complete card for UFC on FOX Sports 1 #3 as of today:
205 lbs.: Ryan Bader vs. Glover Teixeira
205 lbs.: Yushin Okami vs. Ronaldo Souza
125 lbs.: Joseph Benavidez vs. Jussier Formiga
170 lbs.: Sean Spencer vs. Yuri Villefort
125 lbs.: Ali Bagautinov vs. Marcos Vinicius
145 lbs.: Godofredo Pepey vs. Sam Sicilia
135 lbs.: Johnny Bedford vs. Hugo Viana