Thiago Tavares drops to featherweight, meets Zubair Tuhugov at UFC Fight Night 36

As expected, Thiago Tavares (18-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) will indeed make the move to 145 pounds, as he meets promotional newcomer Zubair Tuhugov (15-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 36.

Brazilian outlet Combate.com first reported the pair will meet at the Feb. 15 event at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and MMAjunkie subsequently confirmed that both fighters have verbally agreed to the matchup, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

Featuring a middleweight headliner between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi, UFC Fight Night 36 airs on FOX Sports 1 and streams on MMAjunkie.com. The night’s bout order has yet to be revealed.

Tavares, a native of nearby Florianopolis, openly campaigned for a spot on the card. He makes his debut at featherweight after 14 fights under the UFC banner. Most recently, Tavares earned a first-round submission win over Justin Salas, moving to 3-1 in his past four fights.

Meanwhile, Tuhugov comes to the UFC on the strength of a six-fight winning streak. Fighting professionally since 2010, the 22-year-old Russian has earned six of his 15 career wins by way of stoppage, including five by knockout.

With the addition to the card, UFC Fight Night 36 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*

* – Not officially announced

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

(Pictured: Francisco Trinaldo)