UFC 162 adds Munoz vs. Boetsch, Kennedy vs. Gracie, Cavalcante vs. Silva

With July’s UFC 162 event now official with an Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman championship headliner, the UFC has gone to work filling out the rest of the card.

Three more fights have been added to the night’s lineup. They include middleweights Tim Boetsch (15-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) vs. Mark Munoz (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), middleweights Roger Gracie (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Tim Kennedy (15-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), and light heavyweights Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on Thiago Silva (14-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the new matchups with sources close to the event.

“UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman” takes place July 6 in Las Vegas at a venue to be determined. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

All three of the new bouts could potentially fill main-card slots, but their exact placement on the evening’s lineup was not revealed.

Boetsch returns to action for the first time since suffering a TKO loss at the hands of fast-rising contender Constantinos Philippou. The disappointing result snapped a four-fight win streak for Boetsch, who now meets Munoz. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” was once considered one of the 185-pound division’s top contenders, but a July 2012 loss to Weidman and subsequent injuries derailed his sizable momentum.

Strikeforce import Gracie joins siblings Royce, Renzo and Rolles as the fourth member of MMA’s first family to fight in the octagon. He brings with him a two-fight win streak after back-to-back wins over Anthony Smith and Keith Jardine. He now meets Kennedy, a six-time Strikeforce vet who twice challenged unsuccessfully for the company’s middleweight title.

A former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Cavalcante fights for the first time since having a May 2012 win over Mike Kyle overturned due to failing the post-event drug screen by testing positive for stanozolol. With his suspension complete, “Feijao” now meets Silva, who is also returning to work after a failed postfight screen. Silva tested positive for marijuana metabolites following his November win over Stanislav Nedkov, and his win was also overturned.

The latest UFC 162 card includes:

• Champ Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman – for middleweight title
• Tim Boetsch vs. Mark Munoz
• Rafael Cavalcante vs. Thiago Silva
• Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy

For the latest on “UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman,” stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Mark Munoz)