UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will look to defend his belt against Erik Koch in the main event at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 13.
Aldo vs. Koch re-scheduled for Rio ufc.com/media/ufc-153-…
— UFC (@ufc) July 19, 2012
Aldo (21-1) is riding a 14-fight win streak and coming off a first-round knockout of Chad Mendes at UFC 143 in Brazil. Koch (13-1) is on a four-fight win streak and is coming off a unanimous decision win over TUF 12 champ Jonathan Brookins in September. His only career loss was a unanimous decision to Mendes back at WEC 47.
The two were originally scheduled to meet in the main event in Calgary at UFC 149, which takes place Saturday, but an injury to Aldo forced the UFC to postpone the bout.
In addition to the main event, the UFC also announced that The Ultimate Fighter Brazil winners Cezar Ferreira and Rony Mariano Bezerra have been invited to compete at the event in what will be their first post-TUF bouts. No opponents have been named for either man at this time.
UFC officials confirmed former TUF Live cast member Cristiano Marcello will fight fellow lightweight Reza Madadi on the card.
Plus, a light-heavyweight matchup between Quinton Jackson and Glover Teixeira had been previously announced for this event.
UFC 153 will mark the fourth time the UFC has held an event in Brazil since August 2011.
