Felipe Arantes vs. Maximo Blanco added to February’s UFC Fight Night 36 in Brazil

The UFC’s February return to Brazil continues to build with the addition of another fight between standout featherweights.

Felipe Arantes (15-6-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) will meet Maximo Blanco (9-5-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in a 145-pound bout on the card. UFC officials announced the contest on Thursday.

Featuring a middleweight main event between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi, UFC Fight Night 36 takes place Feb. 15 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Caarina, Brazil. The card airs on FOX Sports 1 and streams on UFC Fight Pass, the promotion’s new digital network.

Arantes will be hoping ot get back on track after a split-decision loss to Kevin Souza at UFC Fight Night 28 in September in Brazil. That was the Brazilian’s first loss since his UFC debut, a decision loss to Yuri Alcantara. Prior to the loss to Souza, Arantes had wins over Godofredo Pepey and Antonio Carvalho and a split draw with Milton Vieira.

Blanco is badly in need of a victory. He has dropped three of his past four fights, including a controversial disqualification in November against Akira Corassani at the TUF 18 Finale. In that bout, Blanco hit Corassani with an illegal knee, and the Swede could not continue. In April, Blanco took a unanimous decision from Sam Sicilia at the TUF 17 Finale to snap a two-fight skid that came at the hands of Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut and Pat Healy in Strikeforce.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 36 card now includes:

• Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Francis Carmont vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Cristiano Marcello vs. Joe Proctor
• Viscardi Andrade vs. Nicholas Musoke
• Andy Ogle vs. Charles Oliveira
• Jesse Ronson vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Thiago Tavares vs. Zubair Tuhugov
• Rodrigo Damm vs. Ivan Jorge
• Nate Loughran vs. Erick Silva
• Yuri Alcantara vs. Wilson Reis
• Felipe Arantes vs. Maximo Blanco

For more on UFC Fight Night 36, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Maximo Blanco)