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UFC’s yet-to-be-announced Fight Night event in Rio de Janeiro has another fight lined up for Oct. 11, as Vitor Petrino takes on Thomas Petersen in Brazil. Multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the pairing with MMA Fighting.
The match-up joins Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto, first reported by MMA Fighting for the company’s return to Cidade Maravilhosa. The promotion has yet to reveal which fighters will headline the card.
Petersen (10-3) is a former LFA heavyweight champion who joined the UFC after tapping out Chandler Cole at Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2023. The 30-year-old has a 80 percent finishing rate in his MMA wins, but went the distance in both UFC victories, a pair of decisions over Mohammed Usman and Don’Tale Mayes.
Petrino (12-2) made short work of Austen Lane in his heavyweight debut this past weekend in Nashville, rebounding from consecutive 205-pound defeats to Anthony Smith and Dustin Jacoby with a first-round rear-naked choke finish. He now holds a UFC record of 5-2.
Speaking with MMA Fighting after the UFC Nashville win, Petrino volunteered to fighting as soon as possible now that he didn’t have to worry about cutting down to light heavyweight.
“This is my eighth fight in less than three years and I want to keep that pace at heavyweight,” Petrino said earlier this week. “If a fight shows up tomorrow, just put the shorts back on and get in the octagon [laughs]. I definitely want to fight once or twice more this year. The good thing about being a heavyweight is that we can be offered a fight at any given moment.”
Mike Heck contributed to this report.
