UFC 134: Rio Adds Welterweight Clash Between Paulo Thiago and David Mitchell

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Paulo Thiago confirmed to sherdog.com Monday evening that he will meet David Mitchell at UFC 134: Rio in a battle of submission experts.

“I’m signing my contract right now and I’m very happy,” Thiago told sherdog.com. “Fighting in Brazil again is like a dream. All my friends and family will be in Rio de Janeiro.”

It is unclear if the fight will take place on the preliminary card or the main pay-per-view card, as 18,000 fans are expected to pack the HSBC Arena on Aug. 27 as UFC returns to Brazil for the first time since 1998.

Thiago (13-3) has lost his last two fights by unanimous decision to Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann, but had won three of his previous four bouts in the UFC prior to those setbacks.

Mitchell (11-1) is looking to get back on track, as the former Tachi Palace Fights welterweight champion is coming off a decision loss to T.J. Waldburger back in 2010 in his UFC debut.

Headlining UFC 134: Rio will be a middleweight title contest between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami.

Okami was the last fighter to defeat Silva, as the Japanese import earned a disqualification victory in 2006. Since that loss, "The Spider" has won 14 consecutive fights.

Many other Brazilians are expected to compete alongside Silva in their home country, including Shogun Rua in a rematch with Forrest Griffin.

When the two former light heavyweight champions met up in 2007, it was Griffin who claimed a submission victory with a rear-naked choke.