Luke Rockhold Faces Vitor Belfort in UFC Debut

Luke Rockhold

Luke Rockhold’s UFC debut will be against Vitor Belfort.

The two are slated to headline an event in Brazil, although no date or venue has been announced.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the match-up following the UFC on Fuel TV 7 pre-fight press conference in England on Tuesday.

Tatame.com reported the bout is expected to take place in April, but White did not confirm that timeframe.

“I just don’t know where or when,” said White, referring to a specific location in Brazil.

Rockhold (10-1) was the final Strikeforce middleweight champion.  He defended the belt twice.  In his last outing in July, Rockhold defeated Tim Kennedy by unanimous decision.  The fight with Belfort will be his UFC debut.

Belfort (22-10) is coming of a technical knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping on Jan. 19 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The former light heavyweight titleholder called for a rematch with Jon Jones following the win over Bisping.  He gets Rockhold instead.