Ben Saunders vs. Erick Silva set for UFC Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro

The UFC's first trip to Rio de Janeiro is slowly coming together, and fans will absolutely love this confirmed welterweight booking. MMA Fighting reports that Ben Saunders and Erick Silva are set to battle inside the Octagon as part of UFC Fight Night on March 21st. The night's main card is expected to air live on Fox Sports 1.

Saunders (18-6-2) is 2-0 in the UFC since leaving Bellator, securing a memorable omoplata win against Chris Heatherly and then picked up another win against Joe Riggs after Riggs injured his neck back in December. "Killa B" was released by the UFC in 2010 after a loss to Dennis Hallman, but Bellator soon picked him up and he competed in 3 of their welterweight tournaments, losing twice in the final to the current champion Douglas Lima. His brutal Muay Thai knees and aggressive style make him one of MMA's fan favorites.

Silva (17-5, 1 NC) is perhaps the most exciting fighter on the UFC roster, having racked up 6 post-fight bonuses in 9 fights. The Brazilian is coming off a 75 second arm-triangle choke win over Mike Rhodes, which was a much-needed bounce-back performance after he was TKO'd by Matt Brown last May. All of Silva's UFC wins have come via 1st round finish, but is 0-3 when the fight advances to the 2nd round or later. He's yet to win consecutive UFC bouts, with the closest instance coming in 2011-12 when a potential TKO win was declared a DQ loss after he hit Carlo Prater in the back of the head.

There's really not much else to say other than to cross your fingers that this fight isn't cancelled, because it is guaranteed to be an entertaining contest.

UFC Fight Night in Rio de Janeiro is expected to be headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assuncao.