Borrachinha def. Bamgbose

It may not be Vitor Belfort, but up-and-comer Paulo Borrachinha has managed to land himself another ex-champ.

The Brazilian middleweight meets former welterweight titleholder Johny Hendricks (18-7 MMA, 13-7 UFC) at UFC 217, which takes place Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The matchup, which was confirmed by MMAjunkie with Borrachinha’s (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) camp, was first reported by Combate.com. UFC officials have not made a formal announcement of the booking.

Hendricks will look to untie the 1-1 record that he’s amassed since moving up to the UFC’s middleweight division. After a decision win over Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 105, Hendricks was knocked out by Tim Boetsch in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 112 encounter.

It’s a delicate moment for the 33-year-old fighter. After multiple issues making the 170-pound limit, he also failed to make weight for his 185-pound bout with Boetsch. Hendricks, who beat fellow ex-champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 to earn the vacant 170-pound title, was on a three-fight skid before the move up.

Borrachinha, in turn, comes impressive off back-to-back UFC wins – which cap off an undefeated professional record. The 25-year-old fighter followed a quick knockout over Garreth McLellan, at UFC Fight Night 106, with another TKO, this time over Oluwale Bamgbose, at June’s UFC 212. He has finished all of his fights to date.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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