Gabriel Gonzaga is back in the UFC after signing a new multi-fight contract with the organization.
The former UFC heavyweight title contender will fight fellow Brazilian Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro on Jan 14. Gonzaga is a late replacement for Oliveira’s original opponent, Rob Broughton, who suffered an injury during training.
Gonzaga went 7-5 in the UFC from 2005-2010 and challenged Randy Couture for the heavyweight title at UFC 74 in August 2007. His last two fights in the UFC were a first-round knockout loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC on Versus 1, and a unanimous decision loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121.
Following the loss to Schaub, Gonzaga was cut by the promotion and briefly retired from mixed martial arts. However, on October 8 Gonzaga returned to action and picked up a submission win over heavyweight Parker Porter in a local show in Connecticut.
Gonzaga gained worldwide notoriety for his knockout of Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic at UFC 70, where he defeated the Croatian with a vicious head-kick knockout.
Oliveira (13-0-1), like Gonzaga, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and at 6’7 uses his long frame to fluster his opponents. The 27-year-old has eight wins by knockout or TKO.
UFC 142 is headlined by a featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and challenger Chad Mendes. The co-main event features Anthony Johnson making his middleweight debut against Vitor Belfort.
Also, Canadians Sam Stout and Antonio Carvalho can be seen in preliminary action. Stout fights Thiago Tavares in a lightweight bout, while Carvalho takes on Felipe Arantes at featherweight.
