UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and challenger Erik Koch (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will meet at UFC 153 in Brazil.
The bout, originally slated to headline this weekend's UFC 149 event before Aldo suffered an injury, now will take place in October.
UFC officials today announced the long-awaited title fight.
As MMAjunkie.com (
UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) first reported, UFC 153 is expected to take place Oct. 13 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
The night's main card is expected to air on pay-per-view, and Aldo vs. Koch will serve as the night's headliner.
Aldo, who was sidelined by a knee injury ahead of UFC 149, enters UFC 153 with a 14-fight win streak. Since ruling the WEC's featherweight division and moving over to the UFC, the well-rounded Brazilian has racked up title defenses over Mark Hominick (in Toronto at the record-breaking UFC 129 event), Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes. Overall, the 25-year-old is a remarkable 11-0 under the Zuffa banner.
Koch, meanwhile, competes for the first time since September 2011, when he earned a dominant unanimous-decision victory over "The Ultimate Fighter 12" champion Jonathan Brookins at UFC Fight Night 25. The 23-year-old's only career loss came to former UFC title challenger Chad Mendes at WEC 47. Since then, "New Breed" is 4-0, which included a first-round knockout of Raphael Assuncao at UFC 128 in his promotional debut.
