Nine fights confirmed for UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil

The UFC’s March show in Brazil has filled out with the confirmation of nine fights.

UFC officials on Monday made official the bulk of the card for UFC Fight Night 38, which takes place March 23 at Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. It will be the promotion’s first visit to Natal.

A light heavyweight rematch between MMA legends Mauricio Rua (22-8 MMA, 6-6 UFC) and Dan Henderson (29-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) will serve as the headliner. The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

In addition to that main event, Cezar Ferreira (7-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) meets C.B. Dollaway (13-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at middleweight; Leonardo Santos (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Norman Parke (19-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at lightweight; Fabio Maldonado (20-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) does battle with Gian Villante (11-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout; Rony Jason (13-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) meets Steven Siler (23-11 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at featherweight; and at lightweight, Gleison Tibau (28-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) is set to take on Mairbek Taisumov (21-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

Also on the card, Ronny Markes (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) takes on Thiago Santos (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at welterweight; Jussier Formiga (15-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) fights Scott Jorgensen (14-8 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at flyweight; and Thiago Perpetuo (9-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) fights Kenny Robertson (12-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at welterweight.

As has become customary for UFC cards in Brazil, each fight features a Brazilian.

Dollaway had a two-fight winning streak snapped in October at UFC 166 when he dropped a split decision to Tim Boetsch at UFC 166. Prior to that, he had decision wins over Daniel Sarafian and Jason Miller. Ferreira has won three straight, including the first season of “TUF: Brazil” at middleweight, where he outpointed Sergio Moares. He then submitted Thiago Santos at UFC 163 this past August and took a split decision from Sarafian at UFC Fight Night 32 in November.

Parke, the lightweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” season between Australia and the United Kingdom, will go after his fourth straight UFC win and 10th straight overall. In the UFC, he has outpointed Colin Fletcher, Kazuki Tokudome and Jon Tuck. Santos won his UFC debut this past June when he stopped William Macario at UFC on FUEL TV 10. Now he’ll look to stretch his overall winning streak to seven fights.

Maldonado was in danger of losing his UFC job after a three-fight skid. But in 2013, he rebounded with wins over Roger Hollett and Joey Beltran to get back on track. Villante, who frequently trains with UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, is coming off a knockout win over Cody Donovan at UFC 167. He’s won four of his past five fight,s including a 3-0 run to close out his Strikeforce career before moving to the UFC.

Jason in November was knocked out in just 40 seconds by Jeremy Stephens, who drilled him with a head kick at UFC Fight Night 32. That snapped an eight-fight winning streak and handed him his first UFC loss. Siler had a two-fight winning streak snapped in November when he dropped a decision to Dennis Bermudez at UFC Fight Night 31. Prior to that, he had won five of six, including a 50-second knockout of Mike Brown at UFC Fight Night 26.

Taisumov won his UFC debut and ran his winning streak to four fights when he beat Tae Hyun Bang this past month in Singapore. The Austrian has won nine of his past 10 fights and 19 of his 21 career wins have come by stoppage. Tibau was knocked out by Michael Johnson at UFC 168 in December to have a two-fight winning streak shut down. Prior to that, he had wins over Jamie Varner and John Cholish.

Markes had a seven-fight winning streak snapped and lost for the first time at middleweight when he was knocked out by Yoel Romero in the third round at UFC Fight Night 31 in November. It was his first loss in the UFC. Santos dropped his UFC debut this past August when he was submitted by Ferreira in just 47 seconds at UFC 163 in Brazil.

Formiga has struggled in the UFC’s flyweight division, going 1-2 so far with knockout losses to Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson and a win over Chris Cariaso. He’ll be looking for a return to the win column after his September loss to Benavidez. Jorgensen made his flyweight debut in December, but dropped a decision to Zach Makovsky at UFC on FOX 9. He’s badly in need of a win with four losses in his past five fights.

Perpetuo had a seven-fight unbeaten streak snapped with a knockout loss to Omari Akhmedov in November, his first setback in the UFC. Robertson will be looking to get back on track after a loss to Sean Pierson this past June at UFC 161. He’s dropped two of his past three.

With the official additions, the latest UFC Fight Night 38 card now includes:

• Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua
• C.B. Dollaway vs. Cezar Ferreira
• Norman Parke vs. Leonardo Santos
• Fabio Maldonado vs. Gian Villante
• Rony Jason vs. Steven Siler
• Mairbek Taisumov vs. Gleison Tibau
• Ronny Markes vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
• Jussier Formiga vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Thiago Perpetuo vs. Kenny Robertson

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: C.B. Dollaway)