Ricardo Almeida (9-3) will return to action against former IFL middleweight champion Matt Horwich (23-10-1) at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on October 25.
The middleweight showdown was made official overnight.
“Big Dog” could have very well found himself in the main event on this card had things gone his way against Patrick Cote at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” last month. However, the Brazilian dropped a razor thin split decision, snapping a seven-fight win streak.
Now it’s Cote who has the daunting task of prying the 185-pound belt from Anderson Silva’s deadly clutches.
Horwich –- the first-ever (and former) IFL middleweight champion -– is a mixed martial arts veteran who was on a roll before losing his title to Ryan McGivern via unanimous decision earlier this year.
“Suave” rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Joey Guel three months later to get back to his winning ways. This will mark his Octagon debut, which appears to be a growing trend for several other former IFL fighters.
To check out the latest UFC 90 fight card and rumors click here.
37 Comments »
This is a Big Dog fight all the way.. I hope.. Horwich is real good o nthe ground.. where Almeida is excellent at.. I hope Almeida comes in with Cardio..to go 3rounds.
Cardio, Cardio, Cardio!!!!!!!!!
No way Almeida looses this fight. When I first watched Howowich, I sewa that I thought he was a litte slow or had down syndrome. The guty is just a weirdo and I do not feel that he should be fighting in the UFC. I think he might get himself killed fighting in the UFC. Lucky for him, Almeida doesnt have much KO ability cause he might have gtten himself hurt against someone like cote.
almeida via Choke! This is an easy fight to win money on. Dont be scared away by the crazy odds that will be set for this fight, bet almeida regardless….He is a LOCK!
Leites vs. Goran Reijlik at Middleweight has also been confirmed for UFC 90
Shaping out to be another solid card! after UFC 88, it will get really good!
Horowich isn’t that much of a slouch you guys. Mind you, Almeida is a tough introduction to the Octagon and Horowich will likely lose.
Inside MMA’s episode last weeek, they were talking about fighters that stink. I thought that it would have turned into a Matt Lindland conversation, but ALL of them said that Matt Horowich is the STANKIEST fighter around.
HIm and Lindland train together. THey probably spend the day rolling around in the mud together like two little piggies!
Matt Horowich just looks like a guy you would love to punch in the face. He probably got a lot of hate in HS and it pushed him to become a fighter. Dana should wear a shirt that says “I bought out the IFL and all I got was this lousy t-shirt and Matt Horowich”
LMAO!!
john that has to be the funniest video i have seen on here lol.
horowich is pretty good, the only problem is he loves the ground game and i think almeida is far to good for him there, but i think you guys might be surprized that this will be a good fight.
That was a good video but it vanished? I know where to find it but I didn’t know Mania moderated after the posts were posted.
Video??? I never saw a video. Where’s it at?
fiveounces, its a crazy fan going off on Dana.
Question: Name the undefeated IFL fighters?
I ask because Paul Daley is said to be fighting an undfeated IFL fighter at EliteXC event in SEptember. He went on to say that after he beats this IFL fighter he will get a title shot against either Alvarez, Diaz, Noons, or Sheilds….depending on who has thye title and what weight class they want him to fight at.
horwich wont last 1 round against big dog…he’s gonna make a big mess of horwich’s face!
I’ll take Almeida in this one. Once Anderson finishes Cote and fights once more at LHW, he can come back to MW and pound Almeida.
Hey, no fair, Okami has earned the right to get beat by Anderson first!
Okami definetly deserves the shot before everyone else especially Cote. Okami is a really big MW and will try to ease into the fight with Silva, I think he stands a good chance at beating Silva. (I’m a big Okami fan if you couldn’t tell) Anyway Okami went to a decision with Rich and during his fight with Silva previously he was losing but not nearly as bad as these guys have been. Okami is a game fighter and I think he will pose Silva’s hardest challenge to date, and may pull off the upset
I disagree. Okami looked good against rich, But went the distance with jason mcdonald, Mike swick, and almost went the distance with rory Singer. He looked good against Evan Tanner, but so did kendall grove. I think Henderson has been silva’s toughest challenge, and would be again in a rematch. Okami is much bigger than he was in the first fight, but still has nothing to offer Silva as far as skillsets go.
You’re probably right about Okami but it really doesn’t matter which order Anderson beats them in.
I really wish the UFC didn’t sign Horwich. First of the guy is just a weirdo, plus most of his fights are boring to watch.
Why dont they have Almeida/Maia? Have they had any BJJ matches against each other already? I think that would be a great match up, but I see Maia winning.
Horwich is a really good fighter, and can do very well in the UFC.
Mark my words, he will not be in the UFC long.
Dana handled himself really well with all that.
This woman is trying to make Dana look like a moron, but dropping F-bombs and doing the ‘fanboy’ routine… doesn’t help her cause in the least.
i saw Matt Lindland tell a story about asking Horwich before a fight if he had on a cup , and Horwich asks back “do you think i need one” (wtf??)… he is a strange dude i think they said he was homeless for a while i am not sure he is all there .. tough MF’er tho (oh ya he carries a bible into the ring … go figure )
you dont even know him to be talking shit. and he choose to be homeless because he is real. why dont you try getting in the ring? and so what if he carries a bible.
OK, I can take defending someone you know or are a fan of. And some people are homeless for many reasons, maybe they’re mentally disturbed or lost a job and were living paycheck to paycheck. But to say someone chooses to be homeless because they are real is downright stupid!
WOW! This fight is going to be incredible, and it better be on the main card.
i wanna see almeida fight maia..
4 everyone who thinks almeida is going to walk over horwich ,u r wrong , horwich is lindlands stunt double and NEVER GETS TIRED,ALMEIDA MAY LOSE
wrong. Horwich was gassed and looked AWFUL in his final IFL fight.
But I agree, Almeida will not walk over Horwich, and I see this fight being a great battle.
Correct if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure Matt Horwich tried to get on TUF 3 and didn’t make it.
I like Almeida in this fight a whole lot. And in the 185 division, he’s a BJJ wizard. I’m curious why no one compared Demian Maia to Ricardo. In their weight class, they are pretty much dominant on the ground. I think that fight would be fantastic.
really excited for this fight. Horwich is one of the most interesting characters in the fight world and never stops coming forward, has some good subs, some ok ko power and a fearless mentality.
ricardo could either catch him easily or get overwhelmed by Horwich’s unstoppable zombie powers.
Horwich is going to get his ass kicked. I say he gets TKO’d in less than 2 rounds.
I find Ricardo to be terribly boring, he just lies there and pulls rubber guard. I love horowich, so much character and guts, hes tuff as hell. He takes to many strikes to the head but he’s fricken tough and you think he’s down and out but he’ll come out of no where with knock out ability. He knocked out radach after being wailed on. I dont see many fighters walking over horowich in the UFC, certainly not almeida. Ricardo is good but I just dont see the explosiveness he’s going to need to knock out horowich. On the ground is a different story, but i still give it to horowich.