Tatame reports that another Brazil vs. USA match-up is in the works for UFC 134: Rio, as Para’s own Yuri Alcantara and Mackens Semerzier will meet in a featherweight bout on the August card:
Now the first fight of “Marajo” in the UFC could not be in a better place, since the fighter revealed to Tatame that he is slated to face Mackens Semerzier in Rio. The featherweight is very excited about the debut at home, assured that his fans will go to Rio de Janeiro to give support:
“It will be a great honor to be able to debut at home and hopefully give a great show to the fans from Pará, who will will certainly appear in mass.”
Alcantara has competed at lightweight for most of his career, but will be cutting down to 145 lbs for this fight. Along with Renan Barao, who meets Cole Escovedo at UFC 130, Alcantara is one of Brazil’s most promising prospects in the lighter weight classes.
Semerzier rebounded from a disastrous three-fight losing streak recently with a dominant submission win over Alex Caceres in Seattle at UFN 24 and will look to continue that momentum in front a hostile crowd in Rio this summer.
UPDATE by Kid Nate: MMA Junkie talks to Semerzier’s manager and he says “not so fast”:
Brian Butler, Semerizer’s manager, today told MMAjunkie that the Mackens most likely will fight in August. However, a rumored matchup with Yuri Alcantra at UFC 134 is not a reality at this point.
It frequently happens that a fight match-up report coming out of Brazil is the product of one fight camp being contacted by a promotion about a possible fight and agreeing verbally rather than both camps coming to a signed agreement. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for updates.
Mackens “Mack da Menace” Semerzier (6-3)
Win Alex Caceres (submission – RNC) – UFN 24
Loss Cub Swanson (split decision) – WEC 52
Loss Javier Vazquez (submisison – RNC) – WEC 50
Yuri “Marajo” Alcantara (25-3)
Win Ricardo Lamas (KO – punches) – WEC 53
Win Manuelo Morales (TKO – body kick) – Jungle Fight 22
Win Francisco Drinaldo (submission-armbar) – Jungle Fight 22
About the author
