Gregory Rodrigues has a new opponent for UFC 283 in his native Brazil on January 23rd after his original opponent Brad Tavares pulled out of the fight earlier this week.
Now ‘Robocop’ will be going up against 30-year-old newcomer Brunno Ferreira, who won a UFC contract last year after a first round TKO victory on the Contender Series.
That took ‘The Hulk’s’ pro-record to a perfect 9-0, having been plying his trade on the Brazilian regional circuit prior to that breakout moment.
Ferreira has a tough test ahead of him in his promotional debut though as the also 30-year-old Rodrigues has made his mark in the UFC with a 4-1 record so far, including back-to-back finishes via strikes in his last two outings against Julian Marquez and Chidi Njokuani last year.
That last win gained Rodrigues a lot of attention as it required him to stage a stunning comeback after being badly hurt by a massive knee to the head from Njokuani that opened up a horrendous gash right the way across his brow that left the fight in danger of being stopped for his own safety.
However, Rodrigues almost immediately regained the momentum with his own hard-hitting offense and went on to win convincingly by TKO.
Rodrigues vs. Ferreira is included on a UFC 283 card headlined by a fight for the vacant 205lb title between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill.
